Running and stuff

2012 Race Calendar and 2011 Year End Summary

2012-01-08T17:27:00.001-05:00

Happy 2012! I usually reserve my blogging for race reports, but in the spirit of setting some goals for 2012, since that’s the thing to do as we end one year and begin another, I thought I’d do a recap on 2011 and a preview to 2012.

2011, let’s review….

I had a few running goals in 2011. One was to PR, and maybe even run a sub 20, for the 5K. And the other was to do a half marathon in under 1:35. I achieved the half marathon goal in March, at the Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon. A great race and a great mini vacation, a PR and sub 1:35 half. The 5K goal took a bit longer to achieve, mainly because of the lack of 5Ks in the summer. I ran a few in the spring and did well but had to wait until the fall 5Ks came around to refocus on this goal. In the meantime, while I not only didn’t PR but actually ran my worst half marathon in recent history, I had an excellent vacation in California at the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon. Great location and great event, I’d like to try it again sometime when I am more prepared. I refocused on the 5K goal and entered my favorite fall 5K, the Run for Healthier Babies. But just so I would have a “practice” race, I also entered the Run for Autism. Turns out I pulled off the sub 20 in the autism race. I think running more often in the mornings combined with losing a few pounds, the right racing shoes and Zensah socks really helped me to make the leap from a 20:34 PR (Mar 2011) to a 19:55 PR in October. After similar sub 20 success in the Healthier Babies race I decided to do the Second Empire Series and ran all but one of my fall 5K races in under 20 minutes, proving it wasn’t a fluke afterall. My current PR is 19:29 in the Jingle Bell 5K. Another goal I added later in 2011 was to run under 33:30 in the Turkey Trot. I did better than expected and finished in 32:16.

Looking ahead to 2012…

I set out with an aggressive race calendar for 2012 when I was originally thinking about it a few months ago, but had to cut back on it some since it was obviously too much to do in one year. As of when I am writing this, Dec 29, 2011, the only races I am formally registered for are the Umstead Marathon on Mar 3^rd and the Biltmore 15K on May 20^th. Unfortunately due to what I really believe was a non-running related Christmas present wrapping calf injury, I am a bit worried about my ability to be ready for Umstead Marathon in time. I’ll just have to take it easy and see how it goes. I wasn’t even able to do 6 miles without lots of pain and stopping earlier this week, but rested 2 days and did 3 today with some, but considerably less, pain. But I was able to do 18 with no trouble in Umstead including Turkey Creek only a few weeks ago, so hoping that this calf thing doesn’t set me back too much. I would like to run Umstead in under 4 hours but we’ll see how it goes. It’s not a BQ race and I’d be doing it for just the fun of doing it. But I don’t want to suffer through it either, so hopefully this injury will heal fast and I’ll be back out there soon. As for the Biltmore race, I am also excited about that one. It’s a great course and a fun trip to Asheville and Biltmore. So far that’s all that is officially on tap for 2012.

Umstead Marathon

http://www.umsteadmarathon.com/

Biltmore 15K

http://biltmorekiwanisclassicrace.com/

Still of course there are some other races I am pondering…

March – Run for the Oaks and Second Empire 5Ks. I’ve done both of these for several years now and I like them but I’ll have to see how I feel after the Umstead Marathon.
September – Provided I am in town this time, I’d really like to run the Magnificent Mile, which I’ve never run before. I’d like to get some speed work in over the summer to train for it. I'd also like to do the Friesen Run with the Canes again.
October – Either the Army 10 miler if we can get an RTR crew to go, or the ATT 10 miler locally.
November – City of Oaks Relay, again if we can get an RTR relay team together it would be fun. And of course the Turkey Trot, maybe the Surfside Beach one this year instead of the Grand Strand Myrtle Beach one.
December – This one really will depend on funding to be able to travel to another race, but I’d like to do the Kiawah Island Half, if not this year, maybe the following year.

Looking REALLY far ahead to 2013 and beyond some other races I’d like to do are:

Big Sur Marathon in California
Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Vermont
Oregon Wine Country Half
Chicago Marathon
Outer Banks Half

Well that is enough dreaming about cool races for now. Happy New Year to you! I wish you a 2012 filled with beautiful trail runs, exciting road races and an injury free year of achieving your goals, whatever they may be!

P.S. - Update as of Jan 8^th, 2012 – I did a 22 mile run today, and felt pretty good so I am feeling better about the Umstead Marathon. I also have a new mantra to use, thanks to my son Owen’s Tae Kwon Do instructor. “Goals I set (sir) are goals I get (sir)!”. I’ll probably leave out the “sir” part but it got me through the last few miles today!

Jolly Elf Trail Run 5K Cary, NC Dec 10, 2011

2012-01-08T17:18:00.002-05:00

Jolly Elf Trail Run 5K Course

After running this race in 2009 I swore I wouldn’t do it again. Of course you’ll note I said that about the Free to Breathe 5K, which I did this year too, but I was serious about this one. However I didn’t have a choice. If I wanted to compete in the series I’d have to run it, since I was out of town for 2 of the 8 races and you need to run 6. I ran a practice run of the course a few months before so I could get familiar with the course again. And…I got lost on the first attempt, despite having a map with me. So since I had time and wanted to run farther I did a second attempt and did better but still wasn’t sure I had run it correctly.

To clarify, it’s not that I dislike the Jolly Elf course, I do like it and do like trail running. It’s trail racing, especially a race where speed is important, like a 5K, that I am not comfortable with. But since I had to do it, I figured I’d embrace it and make it fun. Since this was another holiday race, I figured I’d dress up in my Santa hat again or maybe I’d try a Christmas tree, using a tree skirt and a green shirt with maybe some real Christmas lights. I checked out the stock in Target and all the tree skirts were too heavy and long and since I only do dressing up when the running is not impacted, that idea was out. Plan B then was to do a elf theme, since it is the Jolly Elf afterall. I was also doing some Christmas shopping so was passing by the girls department when I saw it…the perfect red tulle skirt with a sparkly silver waistband. This would be the inspiration for my costume. Of course it would only work as a tutu over my running shorts and I had to try it on to see if the waistband would fit. I then found a green tank top and battery operated Christmas lights to add to the skirt. I tried on the outfit and the skirt was a bit tight but another store had it in a larger size and they were still open so I was off to Target number 2. I picked up the skirt and thought I’d check there for an elf hat, as they didn’t have one at the previous Target. I was excited to find the perfect elf hat, with ears and all for under $5. And to finish off the costume, as if it was fate, were the perfect red and green stripped, white fur trimmed knee socks, sitting right there by the cash registers! An elf was born!

Ready to run!

As the race got closer it became clear that while it wouldn’t be as freezing cold (28 degrees!) as 2009, it was going to be too chilly for a tank top. On race morning, I tried some other options but felt I needed the green tank to complete the outfit, so eventually decided on a black cap sleeve Underarmor shirt to wear under the tank. It turned out this was perfect since I was then able to pin the Christmas lights to the tank with the safety pins on the inside of the tank and still had the other shirt under it so the pins couldn’t be felt. I added the tutu over some short bike shorts, the elf hat, awesome elf socks (over my Zensah socks) and a few bells on my shoes and wrist. The battery pack for the lights fit nicely into the zippered back pocket of my shorts. I was good to go! Keith got up to snap a few pics including one with me and Jangle Bell, our Elf on the Shelf elf. Owen was up just in time to see me before I left, but Grace was still snoozing when I headed out.

Posing with Jangle Bell, our Elf on the Shelf

The race start was at 8:30, or so I thought, so I got up early. But then before leaving I realized the 5K was actually at 9. Still I knew parking could be a challenge so I wanted to get there pretty early. Just like last time, I missed getting a spot in the lot by the registration desk by one car. So I parked in the overflow lot, just like last time. But since it wasn’t as cold, it didn’t seem as far to walk to get my bib and t-shirt as well as over to the start to get my chip. I saw several running friends along the way. Louise was there and Rusty, Rodney, Rusty’s son and Rodney’s brother and another friend were there, getting their elf stuff on.

I brought my stuff back to the car and ran to the bathrooms a few times, thankful that there was really no line in the ones near the boat house (shhhh don’t tell anyone for next year!). I warmed up a little and at the start saw Debra and Jeff and several other running friends. This time I knew what to expect at the start, a big line across the field as there is no starting mat to get a starting chip time and a mad dash across the field to try to reach the turn off to the trail as fast as possible so you don’t get stuck behind other runners. It was pretty muddy but at least it was warmer so the mud wasn’t frozen over like last time. And at least I had on shorts and not tights that didn’t have a drawstring like last time, so I wasn’t spending the first 5 minutes of the race pulling up my pants!

Prior to the start, the race director, gave a very detailed account of the course but the sound system made it challenging to hear. And the funny part was at the end he was like, “well just follow the guy in front of you.” Or maybe I just imagined he said that because a few of us were joking while he was describing the course that this was our plan anyway, to just follow the guy in front of us, really only that first guy needed the course debrief. Still I was glad I had practiced the course so was familiar with it this time.

As the gun went off (which actually I can’t say for any of the races I really remember how the start went, if it was an actual gun, a horn, or someone just saying “ready, set, go”), I made sure to take off pretty fast to get out there before the left turn and then right turn onto the trail. Since I knew however that this wouldn’t be a PR and wouldn’t even likely be a sub 20, I wanted to just focus on keeping a pretty steady reasonable pace after ensuring I wasn’t blocked in. As I did this, I noticed that another woman, Meghan, was pretty close to me and passed me as we turned onto the paved trail about .3 miles or so into the race. But instead of focusing on passing anyone I wanted to ensure I didn’t go out too fast too soon, so I kept a steady pace. The course makes a right turn and then goes onto an unpaved path for a bit, then around the baseball fields and turns right again back again through a parking lot and past the original starting area. It was at this point that I hit a bit of a bottle neck due to some high school kids who started out fast starting to slow down. This is around the 1 mile mark. I couldn’t quite get around them and they were spread a few across and chatting as they ran. Finally they noticed a friend of theirs had dropped from their group so they agreed to slow to wait for her and I was able to get past them. I passed a few more of them before entering the woods again.

Trying to weave around the high school runners around the 1 mile point

This part of the course is more like a real trail. It isn’t quite single track but it’s more challenging than a typical fire road would be. This is a pretty fun part of the course and it felt like going for a nice run in the woods because by this point the runners had started to spread out. I felt really good and had really not been looking at the overall time and distance, only the pace. I passed Meghan around this point, which I believed meant I was second female overall, with Erin Dillon way out in front. I kept going at a good even pace through the trail and slowed a bit but not too much as I went up the railroad tie/steps area. The trail winds through a nice wooded area here. I started to catch up to and pass a guy who looked like he was in pretty good shape but he did not look like a true “runner” given the clothes he was wearing. He asked me how fast I was planning to run the race and I told him usually I’d aim for sub 20 but maybe not for this as it was on the trail. He seemed a bit surprised and said something like he had not run in 3 years and that it must be nice to be in shape. I am sure being passed by a girl (ok a 41 yr old “girl”), who was fully decked out in an elf costume with working Christmas lights was not something he had expected. He tried to stay with me for a bit but eventually fell back.

As I exited the wooded area and back onto the paved trail I saw Winston, a 14 yr old young man who I see at lots of local races who runs around the same pace as I do. He was keeping a great pace. He asked what pace we were going and I said around 6:30 or so. Around this point we reached the 2 mile mark and honestly I was shocked. I often get to 2 miles and feel “oh my god we are only at 2 miles!” so this is probably the first time I felt “oh my god how did we get to 2 miles already!”. I felt great and was very happy that was the case. Winston fell back a little bit just after the 2 mile mark. Not sure if he ever would find this blog but I truly believe he is much faster than he thinks. I can tell by they way he is running that he definitely has more speed and energy in him but sometimes I think he doesn’t know it and he slows down in the last mile or mile and a half.

Sprinting to the finish

Results posted at the race

I was able to keep the pace and even increase it in the last mile a bit. As we passed the baseball fields for the second time, knew the finish was very close and I was still feeling strong. I turned off into the wooded area and through to the open field to the finish line. I even passed a guy or two in the home stretch and as I neared the finish I saw to my surprise that the clock was still under 20 minutes so I sprinted to beat 20. I finished in a chip time of 19:41! This was likely due to the course, at least according to my Garmin (and everyone elses), being a bit short. The race this time was WAY better, both in time and in experience, than in 2009. And while it was a bit chilly, it was not bitterly cold so I was comfortable staying in my elf costume, with only an extra fleece jacket added on top.

Post race

Me, Rodney, Rusty's son and Rusty in our elf attire

I hung around for the awards while chatting with friends, taking some pictures and enjoying some hot cocoa. David from the IOS Wine Run was there and Sarah had run the 5K with Mia, who did a great job! When award time came, I picked my ornament from the pile and since I was second overall female I also got a pink water bottle and belt. Since I have a water belt already, I wouldn’t ever use this prize and wished I had gotten the third place award of some nice gloves instead. But I figured Grace would like the water bottle for hiking, which she did, so I didn’t attempt to trade it in. I originally picked a dark bluish/black ornament but when I went back up to get an ornament for Linda who had to leave before the awards, I saw a Ho Ho Ho Run Run Run ornament so I got one for her and exchanged my other one for one of those too. In the end they forgot to announce the winners of the most festive costume, but one of the race organizers told me on the way out that I was one of them so that was cool. No prize for that I guess, but he did give me a dozen cinnamon donuts to take home!

Race bling

The Jolly Elf trail run was a great end to a great fall race series. I finished 3rd female overall (link to results http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventID=1988749). The series was a lot of fun but I was glad it was over so I could move on from the 5Ks to the longer distances again and to focus on training for the Umstead marathon, which I decided to enter just after Thanksgiving. Not sure if I’ll do any other races before Umstead on March 3^rd, likely not but I may. For now, I am looking forward to the Second Empire awards luncheon on February 4^th. I’ll see all you Second Empire Series winners there! Congrats to you all, it was great racing with you.

Jingle Bell 5K Raleigh, NC Dec 3, 2011

2012-01-08T17:02:00.000-05:00

Jingle Bell 5K Course

This is my 3^rd year doing this race. I am not sure I like the course very much, but I do like the event. It’s so much fun to see everyone dressed up and with their jingle bells on. In 2008 I ran this as my second race ever since moving to NC. I ran the Second Empire 5K in Oct 2008 as my first “comeback” race. The only running I was doing was on the weekend, usually pushing one of the kids in the jogging stroller. I ran that in 23:xx. Not too bad for not really training I’d say. Then I ran the Jingle Bell. Owen and Grace did the kids dash that year. It was very cold however and quite stressful for Keith to watch both kids in the cold while I ran. So the following year, I went solo but for some reason wasn’t feeling quite so well after the race. I placed in my age group but asked someone to get my award for me because I was feeling nauseous. So that year, not so fun. I did 22:xx but it was not my best race that year for sure. I skipped the race in 2010 so was happy to return in 2011 to do it as part of the Second Empire series.

Ready for the Jingle Bell

I wore my Santa hat for the race the last 2 times, so was planning to do that this time as well. Last minute before leaving the house I decided to add a little something. I had a garland that had some bulb Christmas lights hanging from it so I fastened them with safety pins after wrapping them around me. Pretty festive and unobtrusive. I don’t mind a bit of dressing up in the holiday spirit as long as it doesn’t’ interfere with my running. I am not coordinated enough to pull off the real costumed running so you won’t see me running any Turkey Trots dressed as a turkey or anything!

The Jingle Bell 5K starts at St. Mary’s School off Hillsborough St. in Raleigh. It’s a pretty big event, well organized. And this year it was even warm enough to roam around outside. I got a great parking spot right on the campus. It’s blocked in by the race course but since I was staying until after the awards I didn’t care. And it was right near the port a potties! However, the one problem with this race is the lack of potties for the size of the race field. Sorely lacking. Not and issue early on, but once the crowd starts to grow, so does the line. And per usual I had to go again right before the start. I also knew that for this race I’d better line up early. Unlike the Triangle Expressway Trot, no one would be shy about getting right up on the starting line at this race. There was absolutely no way the line would move fast enough to get me to the potty before the start. However as luck would have it I saw another woman duck into a door in the school where the bib and chip pickup is. So I followed her and sure enough she was heading to an upstairs bathroom that only a few knew about. There was a line but short enough that I was able to go and get to the start 10 minutes ahead. Whew!

Before the potty quest, I had gotten my bib and chip and double, triple checked that the chip and bib matched. The number on my chip was hand written on there on a little round sticker, not like the other chips with the preprinted number. Not exactly confidence inspiring given my last two races. But I was surely sticking around for results and awards so if there was any issue I’d be there to fix it at least.

I saw Pauline and met some of her new friends from work. She was looking all buff as usual and festive with her cute earrings and red shirt. I also saw Bill who runs sometimes with our group and we chatted about the Umstead Marathon, which I had just signed up for, since I guess I needed a new challenge now that the Second Empire Series was winding down. He told stories of miserable looking runners that he’d seen out there last year. Gee thanks Bill!

So after the potty issue was resolved, I dashed to the start and got right up there. Before lining up and at the starting line, I saw a lot of the “regulars” (Debra, Rodney, Rusty, Emil, etc) who are running the series and chatted a bit until the gun went off. I took off up the hill down St. Mary’s Street pretty fast to try to get right out there. But was cautious to not go out too crazy fast because I have done that in some of the downtown races before with bad results. I didn’t want to crash and burn around mile 2. So I consciously had to slow myself down a bit with a goal of trying to run at a more even pace this time. I noticed that for much of the race I wasn’t too far behind Kimberly but was cautious to try to not keep the pace faster than I was able to maintain. I finished the first mile in around 6:15, so not too bad.

Just before rounding the corner back onto St. Mary's Street to the finish

Running straight down Hillsborough St. isn’t the easiest course. It feels like you are running forever and can’t wait to get to the turnaround. Again an out and back course which isn’t my favorite type of course. But I kept focused on a constant pace and not slowing down but just looking at the current and average mile pace. I hit the turnaround and was feeling a bit tired but tried to not let that feeling take over and slow down. I finished mile 2 in 6:20, so a little bit slower but much more consistent pace than usual. I just had to hang on one more mile. Since this course turns back on St. Mary’s Street, it didn’t feel quite as bad as just running straight to the finish on Hillsborough. Unfortunately I had about 2 blocks more to go before the turn then I thought, since the school is big enough that there are 2 more driveway entrances before actually getting to the corner of St. Mary’s Street. I could still see Kim up ahead and Santa was standing on the corner cheering everyone on. I gave Santa a shout out and turned the corner. I knew it was a short way at this point so felt some energy to sprint. Once I could see the clock I was even more motivated, because it seemed I would not only PR but maybe even come in under 19:30!

Results posted on race day

I crossed the finish with a time on my Garmin of 19:31, so hoped perhaps the chip time would be a bit faster. Later that night when results were posted my chip time was 19:29, YAY! I was 4^th overall female which put me as first in age group since there was no masters category. I was really happy with a PR and the AG win and was also glad that the weather this year was finally warm enough to roam around outside and enjoy the day and the post run coffee and food while waiting for the awards. I spent some more time chatting with some friends and then got my award, a $20 gift certificate to Omega Sports. Another great 5K in the Second Empire series down, one last race, the Jolly Elf Trail Run, to go.

Hanging out with Mr. C!

Grand Strand Myrtle Beach Turkey Trot 8K Nov 24, 2011

2012-01-08T16:49:00.001-05:00

Grand Strand Turkey Trot 8K Course

I was really looking forward to running this race again. On a whim I decided to run it last year. In fact I had not really planned to. I knew there was a race in Market Common, a fairly new shopping area near the old Air Force base in Myrtle Beach, but really didn’t plan to run it. I kind of knew that no one else in the family would be jazzed about getting up early to go and I felt bad for leaving on a holiday morning. But when I decided that morning to head to the beach to run anyway, I got in the car and figured, hey I could make it over to Market Common and just run the Turkey Trot. So I did. And I came in 3^rd overall! My times this year in 5Ks were certainly faster so I was excited to see how much better I could do. This time I let everyone know I was running it and I registered ahead of time so I could get a shirt that actually fit instead of the XL one I got last year. I said that no one had to come but that I’d be running it and would be back as soon as I could. But since Owen wanted to also run and Deb was coming for Thanksgiving too, Deb and Keith came too, along with Owen, who registered for the 1 mile.

Owen not feeling very photogenic before the race

Deb hoping this is the only time she sees this stretcher. LOL!

We got there with more time to spare than we really needed and it was pretty chilly out so we hung around in the community center building for a bit. We eventually asked about the 1 mile course and found out to our surprise it was not starting where the 8K starts, but actually starting back over where the 8K finishes! Good thing we asked because we had little time to get over there. Deb said she’d run the 1 mi with Owen so they lined up for the start while Keith and I cheered them on. I waited until Owen and Deb finished before heading back over to the 8K start. Owen did a great job, running his fastest 1 mile ever in around 10:30. I bet he can go even faster next time, the key for sure was him having to do it without me to complain to along the way I think, that and he was getting a big kick out of being in front of Deb so that encouraged him to keep going. Nothing like beating your nice Aunt who was kind enough to run with you huh?

Owen sprinting to the finish!

Owen and his race "bling" with Aunt Deb and me

Owen was all smiles now after his great finish. Deb did well but probably vowed never to run with Owen again. I headed over to the 8K start and they announced a 10 minute delay. Grrrr! Well at least this allowed time for another potty stop. I line up at the front and saw a few other fast-ish women and guys up there too but it’s hard to know who is doing the 5K and the 8K because they start together and then eventually branch off. As I took off I tried to remember not to go out too fast like in the Triangle Expressway Trot less than a week ago. I just ran my pace, a bit faster than the goal pace of 6:35 or 6:40 and just ignored the fact that there were a few women ahead of me. I hoped that most were doing the 5K anyway. The first mile felt stupid easy. I had to slow myself down and felt that I was jogging along. Very strange feeling indeed. Probably due to the cool weather, the extreme flatness, and the high from PRing the weekend before. Still I knew it wouldn’t last so I had better slow down and settle into a pace I could keep for 5 miles.

Me in the purple tank and black Zensah socks, near the start

Mile 2, hello headwind. This was a challenging mile for sure. I believe in mile 2 is when you split from the 5K and as suspected many folks were doing the 5K so turned right when I turned left. I wasn’t 100% sure but pretty sure there was probably at least 1 woman who was doing the 8K ahead of me. I ran up the main road in Market Common, Farrow Parkway, knowing that this part was the tough part last time for me. It’s the part of the course where you get to 3 miles and then turn around so you can see everyone behind you and ahead of you, again a blessing and a curse. I felt pretty tired but was determined to maintain my pace for the next 2 or so miles. Once I approached the turnaround point, I did confirm that one of the women on the starting like who looked speedy was in fact ahead of me. She was older than me for sure, and likely was one of those local front runners. She was far enough ahead that it would not be really doable to catch her, so I settled in to second place and just focused on pace. The woman behind me in 3^rd was also far enough behind me that she’d likely not catch me, so just keeping steady was the key.

I thought about the turkey dinner that was coming soon as well as getting some chai tea at Starbucks when I was done. Soon I reached the lake that I knew was around the 4 mile mark so just a bit less than 1 mile to go. You can actually see the finish on the other side of the lake which is somewhat comforting but still a long way to go, especially having to weave through the 5Kers who remerge with the 8K at this point. I did a few “on your lefts” and got some bewildered looks. Guess most folks running a 5K at the pace I run an 8K at are not everyday runners who know what “on your left” means. But I gave it everything I had to get to the finish and ended up with a time of 32:17. A whole lot better than my 35 or so time from last year.

After the race

Keith, Owen and Deb were there at the finish. It was funny because Owen mentioned that I’d be upset or that it took me so long or something and I was like “no, this was a great time Owen, way better than last time!”. My pace was under 6:30 which was much better than I’d planned. Then he spilled the beans to say that daddy thought I’d be upset because he had calculated my pace and figured I’d finish in under 29 or 30 minutes. Of course he used my 5K pace for that. I explained that if I could run an 8K at that pace, then my pace for the 5K would be faster.

They all headed back for breakfast and I stayed for awards, wasn’t making that mistake again! As it turned out, my time was correct but the results posted on site said I was 3^rd! What the heck!? I didn’t even notice at first since I was just checking to be sure my time was right. I took a picture of the results but then looked at it again and realized something was not right. I saw that a male (Matt) and female (Chris) with the same last name were listed as having come in at the exact same time, ahead of me and a few other folks who were up front. That was certainly not the case, there was no couple running at breakneck speed who romantically held hands and crossed the finish together, no way. Just as I was going to the timing booth to mention this, a few other guys were also doing the same. Turns out that this guy and his wife were supposed to run the 8K but decided last minute to do the 5K instead….with the 8K chip of course since they didn’t realize this would be an issue. So they fixed that plus some other errors (they had the overall winner as the female, so completely missed the first place guy entirely). This and the fiasco the week before has opened my eyes to how often errors can occur, so I will certainly be watching this more closely from now on!

Race Bling

As was the prize last year, this year was another painted tile with the turkey trot logo on it. I now had a 3^rd and 2^nd place tile. Just a few hundred more and I could redo our bathroom shower…bet Keith would LOVE that.

I was very pleased with how I did at the race and was glad that Owen did well and more importantly felt good about himself after the race. I was also glad that Deb and Keith could join us for a great start to the wonderful turkey day we had.

Triangle Expressway Trot RTP NC/Wake PTA 5K Cary NC Nov 20, 2011

2012-01-08T16:29:00.001-05:00

Triangle Expressway Trot 5K Course - Even I couldn't get lost on this one!

First Place Female Overall, for the first time EVER!

Ok well that really sums up the Triangle Expressway Trot 5K but guess I’ll write a little bit more about it since it was a good event. I can’t recall if I saw this race online first or if someone mentioned it and I looked it up, but from the first time I heard about it I was interested. Sounded fun, running on the stretch of highway before it opens, a one shot deal because they wouldn’t be shutting down the road next year. And it wasn’t part of the Second Empire Series so I could just go and not think about place or point, but secretly I was also hoping that it wouldn’t draw a big group of fast runners either so I’d have a shot at placing overall. Plus I figured it was likely to be pretty flat. While not a scenic course it would be different. But then I realized the start of this race at 2pm was only 1.5 hrs from the start of Owen’s Wake PTA 5K at 3:30. Hmmmm, could I make it??? I sat on the fence for a long time, in fact until the day of essentially. Even the day before I considered just skipping it. But in the end I figured hey I need to run anyway so a quick run down the expressway and I’ll jump in the car. Keith said he’d bring Owen and Grace to the Wakemed Soccer Park for the start of the Wake PTA 5K, so as long as I got there for the start to run with Owen I’d be ok. No problemo!

Cool race logo

I drove to the race starting point in Morrisville, which wasn’t to hard to find, and quickly registered. I saw Louise there and Brad, but didn’t recognize most of the other runners. I assumed it was because Morrisville draws a different crowd, but I later found out many of the attendees were families of those who helped construct the road, so not your standard running folks. I filled out my form and handed it to the volunteers. I asked about a tech shirt but all had been spoken for so I just took the standard cotton one. This will be important later but at the time I didn’t think too much of it…a guy, who had parked right near me as well, was registering at the exact same time. When the volunteers were organizing the forms and handing us our bibs and chips I heard the one with my form say 483 but my bib said 482 so I said to her, “did you say 483?” and she looked at a form she had and said “no that was his” referring to the guy registering at the same time as me. So I said “oh” and just let it go. I also don’t recall having looked at the chip they gave me to see if it even had a number on it, muchless whether the number matched my bib…ALSO an important part of this race story.

Me in the gray tank and black Zensah socks. On the left is one of the NC State Wolfpack mascots.

I put on my bib and chip and ran back to the car to drop off my t-shirt. I drank some more water and then decided to warm up a bit, as well as of course hit the port a potties, which I usually have to do many times before a race starts unfortunately. As the start time drew near I headed to line up. Strangest thing ever, no one, except the Wolfpack mascots (yep, the boy and girl wolves, don’t know their names) was actually trying to get ON the starting line. Everyone else held back, just wandering around. Usually in the 5K’s I’ve been doing, everyone is usually pushed up on the line. So this was a sign that the competition maybe wasn’t so fierce. The Wolfpack mascots were being silly and mugging for the cameras so that was entertaining. And a few guys who didn’t look like runners (not that we should ever judge that because hey, you never know how fast someone is by looking at them, that is for sure!) were up near the start by now. One asked me how fast I was going to run, and I said hopefully under 20. He looked pretty surprised, so maybe I also don't look like a runner, who knows! It was almost time to start and still no one clammering to get up front.

Getting a good head start

As the race started, I took off pretty fast, on the newly paved road that headed down hill. Quickly it was obvious that there were very few sub 20 runners in this even, including the men. A few guys got out in front quickly and then I was running along side a few other guys. Some of them dropped back significantly after about ½ mile. I think these were the non-runner guys who were affiliated with building the road. We were going at around 6mm pace, a pace they’d usually sprint at and so they kept up at first but guess they didn’t consider that they couldn’t keep that pace for the entire 5K race. After about 1 mile, the front runners were pretty set, including me. I knew I ran the first mile too fast but I couldn’t stop myself, it felt just too easy on the new roadway and it was down hill. I knew I’d likely pay later but didn’t care much this time.

Another shot of the race start

The course is an out and back, turning around where the onramp to 40 is placed. But it’s not a straight shot, it actually twists and turns a bit, so you can’t see the turnaround from too far out. In fact I got a tip from Neville Wood on the starting line to be sure to run the shortest way and not to hug the curves too much because the course is measured on the trajectory. Those in the local running community all know Neaville, even if they don’t know they do. If you look on the bottom of nearly every course map around here, you’ll see they were measured by Neaville. I’ve seem him at many races but never had an opportunity to speak with him. But given the hesitancy of the field today to get right up on the starting line, Neaville was right up there next to me so we talked about the course a little. He’s in his 60s and runs many of the races. In going to a lot of the 5Ks this year I am really getting familiar with the who’s who of racing, particularly in the 50 and up categories as they are for sure the most consistent group. Pretty much the same dedicated fun group of runners come out to all the races and I see them getting their awards race after race. I think that will be some of us someday doing the same. I know I’ll see Pauline, Pam, Kim, Laura, etc out there, with their colorful running shoes, racing tanks and probably even booty shorts (ok maybe just Laura, LOL), when they are in their 50s, 60s, and onward. Hahaha!

But back to the course…so as we reached the turnaround is when I started to feel like this was getting tough. I knew however that I was the first female from the start and in fact never really saw any women out there in my peripheral view once the gun went off. I never really looked back or thought about if any were close. I just assumed not as there weren’t really many men ahead of me either. The bad, and good, thing about out and backs like this is you can see exactly who is ahead of and behind you and by how far. But I was slowing down a bit and just wanted to focus on maintaining a pace to keep me under 20 minutes, so I still wasn’t as focused on who was behind me. I did notice the next woman but she seemed far enough behind that unless there was a drastic change in my pace, or hers, that I’d be able to hold the number 1 spot. Around mile 2 or 2 ¼ I definitely was feeling drained and it was a struggle to maintain pace up the hills. I knew they’d come back to haunt me. There was a guy a few seconds ahead of me for most of the second half of the race so I just focused on my pace and on keeping him in sight. I did the second mile in around 6:27 or so, a big change from mile 1, but still pretty good and enough to keep me under 20. I was struggling by 2 ½ miles and did the annoying whining/grunting out loud that I sometimes resort to that must be frustrating to other runners if they hear it but I can’t really help it sometimes. Sorry fellow runners! Anyway, this guy heard me a few times I guess and shouted back a few words of encouragement which was very nice. I am always thankful when another runner does that, it means a lot.

Me and number 95 (Shan) who provided me some encouraging words to get to the finish, thanks!

As soon as I could see the finish I felt better, knowing that I could certainly get there and do it in under 20 minutes, so I was pretty happy. Still it was a struggle to the end and felt like it was all up hill, but as I got closer I saw someone pulling something across the finish line, and I was thinking “what the heck are they doing?” but then it dawned on me that they were holding out the finishers tape (or whatever its called) because I was the first female. COOL! (Wish I had a pic of that!) Also it turned out this was a new PR, 19:43. Not the most consistently paced race but a PR none the less.

I had asked Louise before the race started if she was sticking around and if she could pick up any award for me if I placed, since I’d have to leave right after I finished. But I never thought it would be first place. Arrrgh, figures the ONE time I have to leave and that’s the race I come in first. But I knew being there for Owen’s race was more important and besides it was coming in first that was cool, the award for it is just an extra plus. I went over to the announcers booth and told them I had come in first but unfortunately couldn’t stay but my friend Louise was going to be there for awards. Too bad I didn’t go to the timing booth instead.

I decided to hang out for a little bit longer to see Louise finish. I happened to be at the finish line and was going to try to say thanks to the guy who was in front of me who shouted the encouraging words, but realized I had no idea what he looked like. It was at that point I saw Neaville coming to the finish but he seemed to be falling, actually it was a surreal slow motion situation and he was nearly falling into the volunteer who was in front of me removing chips from shoes. Me and another women kind of caught his arms a bit as he fell and the volunteer nearly but thankfully didn’t get knocked all the way over. He had skinned his knee a bit but he seemed ok. It took what seemed like forever to get a paramedic over there. In the meantime Louise finished and I quickly mentioned my first place finish. Also around that time the girl who had come in second came over and we chatted for just a moment about her being new in the area and what running groups I ran with. I mentioned RTR and the IOS Wine Run. By then it was pushing 2:30 and I knew I was going to turn into a pumpkin if I didn’t leave.

Wake PTA 5K Course

I ran back to the car, and I didn’t even really change except for my shirt since I was out of time, and headed to race #2. I got there in time and chatted with Tom and his family and also some of the Oak Grove group who had a big turn out at the race. As we lined up, I felt tired but was glad we’d be running this 5K slowly. The start was in a big open field which I am not usually fond of. Owen took off with his friend Andrew quickly. They were doing very well. But about ½ mile in, Owen had to go to the bathroom. It was kind of downhill (not literally) from there because Owen really had to go and kept saying so but was embarrassed to just go by a tree so we had to find a spot off the beaten path to go, around ¾ of a mile into the race. He finally went and he was lucky he didn’t get stuck because there were a bunch of thorny bushes in the spot we chose! Once we got back onto the course, Owen was pretty bummed that he had lost so much ground. I tried to cheer him up but he was pretty grouchy about it. He did sprint a few times here and there to gain some ground but then would feel discouraged again and walked.

Goofing around before the start

The race course was actually a very nice one. Rolling hills, but none too tough. Of course I guess I’d feel different if I had actually been racing it. It seemed like we were out there a long time and Owen was fairly pouty for most of it and as we neared the 3 mile mark, he said his foot was really hurting so we were hobbling to the finish. My friend Tom finished 3^rd overall, in under 19 minutes, which was awesome. If you take out the stop for the bathroom Owen ran it in around 45 minutes so comparable to the Run with the Canes 5K. But he was much more cheerful at that race. Oh well, they can’t all be good ones, but he finished and completed the distance for his school goal of doing a marathon. I guess I was more excited and proud than he was.

More silly poses

Very proud of Owen for finishing this challenging course

Later that evening I was online waiting for the Triangle Expressway Trot results to be posted. When they finally were I couldn’t believe my eyes….I was not listed as first! The girl who was second was listed as first and I was second, with a time that was a minute or more slower than my actual time. I was freaking out….how could this happen!!!??? I tried to figure it out but before I did I immediately emailed the race director to let him know of the error and to ask for it to be fixed. I had heard that this happens more often than you’d think but never was the victim of it. And it just figures that the one time would be when I come in FIRST and CAN’T stay to get the award. Arrgggh!

After I sent the email the scene of me registering at the same time as Mr. 483 all came back to me. Of course! The registration volunteers actually must have mixed up the paperwork afterall. And not only that but they must have given me his chip and him mine. That would explain why he was listed as having finished in 19:43, the exact time I actually finished in. I was pretty sure he was not in front of me because there were only a few guys up there and he was pretty tall so I would have noticed. So I emailed the race director again after realizing this. Just as I was emailing him he also emailed me to mention that the forms he had showed me and this other guy as both being bib 483. That was clearly not the case, but since I wasn’t there for some reason they assumed the other guy was correctly timed with chip 483 but in reality I must have been wearing chip 483. What a mess.

Number 483 running along side a guy who ran in just under 21 minutes

Ultimately they updated the race results later the next day, which I was glad to see. I actually even checked them a few times after to be sure they didn’t revert back to the incorrect times…silly I know. I have to say I know it may be dumb but I didn’t sleep much that night. It was really upsetting to see and I felt strange for having to explain myself to justify my first place finish. It just didn’t seem right and certainly not the way I envisioned finishing first to go. Later that evening, before the results had been upated, I was looking to see if there were any pictures or articles online about the race. There were a few short news articles but they focused more on the opening of the expressway and didn’t even mention the men’s winner much less the women’s. I was actually thankful for that because I am sure I would have been really upset if someone else was mentioned in the newspaper! It also turns out there were a few photos on News And Observer. None of me crossing the finisher tape (did I dream that???) but an interesting set of pics showing me and the “encouraging words” guy in one photo, and you can look up his time to see that he was right around the time I ran, so in the 19:30s. And the very next photo is Mr. 483 running side by side with a guy, who when you look up his number, had a time of just under 21 minutes. So photo proof that our chips were switched! As for Mr. 483, this wasn’t really his fault but I find that kind of funny that in the pharmaceutical industry 483 is a BAD number, it’s the number of the form that the FDA uses to write up deficiencies they find. So getting a 483 is bad…as it was for me this day!

In the end while the results did get updated, the awards did not. So I guess I’ll never know if the award for first was different than for age group. This race only gave 1^st overall and 1^st in each 10 year age category. Louise brought me my 1^st AG medal to the next race. It was nice to at least get something. But I can’t help but wonder how no one else who was there getting an award noticed that there was something wrong with the results. Mr. 483 should have known he did not run a 19:43 5K but perhaps he didn't look at the times or didn't stay either, I don't know. The girl who came in second knew I was first, however for sure it was possible that she thought there was something that disqualified me or that I ran unofficially or something. There were several other runners that didn’t get awards that day due to this mishap and they probably don’t even know it. Since 483 was credited with my time, he took 1^st AG but in reality some other guy was first. And since I was first overall but was given the 1^st AG award instead, the woman who should have really been 1^st AG for 40-49 didn’t get an award.

Moral of the story…don’t run a race you can’t stick around for. J But still I am glad I ran it because it was a good race, I got to see some friends there, and I eventually at least on the books got to say I came in first and ran a PR as an extra bonus! Also unless they do shut down the expressway in the future, I am a guaranteed course record holder. How cool is that!?

Free to Breathe 5K Raleigh NC Nov 5, 2011

2011-11-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

Free to Breathe 5K - "New" North Hills Course

I said I'd never do it again. The Free to Breathe is one of the toughest courses I recall running since I started running races in the Raleigh area. It was an uphill finish to what I recall being a not so scenic course, though I have to say all I really remember is the uphill finish. This was on the NC State Centennial Campus and I ran it in 2009. Actually I also recall that I had to park really far away and probably logged more mileage to and from the car when I did this race in 2009 than in the actual race. Still it was a well put on event and for a good cause (lung cancer research). So when I heard that it moved to North Hills I was optimistic that the course had to be better, couldn't be worse, could it? And if I was going to run the series I had no choice but to run it since I'd already missed the Magnificent Mile since I was out of town and would be away again for the IOS Turkey Trot.

Free to Breathe "old" Centennial Campus course, for comparison - elevation visually not so different and the last mile is at least a 30 ft higher climb in the "new" course

Again I didn't pre-register but waited until race morning to do that. I was pretty sure that I'd do it though since I had done 3 races already and while it was supposed to be cold, it was sunny and dry out so there was no good reason not to run it. So I got up early and headed to North Hills. I got a parking spot right in front of Harris Teeter, very convenient it turned out for avoiding the port a potties. It wasn't too far from the start. I got registered quickly and hung in the car a bit longer to eat some cereal and keep warm. I met up with Linda and was able to give her the award I picked up for her from the last race, as well as get a few pointers on the new course...uh oh, another uphill finish. Oh well, too late now.

I warmed up and saw a few of the "usual suspects" who are running the series. It's nice to see friendly faces in the crowd and have folks to talk to before and after the race. It was also a nice change to have a bagel place right at the start/finish. Usually there isn't a place to grab food after a race that is so close. Now that is mighty convenient, almost worth running uphill for...almost. This week the 1 mile fun run was first as well, just like the Monster Dash. Then the 5K group lined up. The "little" girls from last week skipped this race, thankfully, so I had a better shot at placing higher up! I got up near the front of the starting line and chatted until the start.

It was an uphill start which wasn't fun, but I tried to gain some ground there since I knew it would also be an uphill finish so I didn't want to start too slow. I have to say I felt really good all through mile 1, with a split of 6:14. Mile 2 was even better, winding streets with rolling hills and more down than up. I kind of knew I was going maybe faster than I should since sometimes the current pace read under 6 mm pace (like 5:40) but since I had my Garmin on current pace I couldn't really tell overall how much faster it was until the end of Mile 2 when the split read 6:06. Opps, maybe a tad too fast. But still I felt pretty good so I wasn't too worried.

That is until reality struck and I saw proof that "what went down must now go back up". The third mile was truly awful. No break from the hill, it was just up, up, up. And believe it or not, it wasn't my legs really or breathing that were the issue. But my arms were killing me, probably sore from trying to pump faster with no success to get up the hill. I couldn't wait for mile 3 to end. I talked to myself out loud (like a crazy person) to convince myself not to give up and not to lose it now. I wasn't falling behind necessarily, or at least no more than anyone else. I could still see Kim and Rodney ahead. In fact I passed a few people early in mile 3, so I was running that mile comparable to the rest of the field. But I knew I was slowing a lot so I just tried to go as fast as I could despite my sore arms. I even removed my arm warmers in the last 1/2 to 1/4 mile hoping that would help in some way...it did not.

Once I got to 1/4 mile left (there was a sign at 1/2 mile to go and 1/4 mile to go), I at least could feel the end in sight but physically couldn't see the clock until very close to the finish line, since it was around the bend. By the time I could see it, I knew I didn't PR or even make a sub 20. It was 20:15 when I passed through (20:14 chip time). I was first and foremost glad it was over and secondly I suspected I was 3rd overall which was pretty cool, so I wasn't too disappointed. Still I wished I had beat the clock to another sub 20 but knew that it was due to the course. In fact in comparing the times with other runners who had run the last few races, it was very clear that this was a tougher course. Even the first woman finisher had a time difference from the last race to this one of nearly 1 minute, so I didn't feel so bad.

After the race I got changed quickly (at the handy dandy Harris Teeter), chatted a bit with Rusty, Rodney and Kim, and grabbed a bagel and hazelnut coffee (my favorite) just in time for the awards. I was 3rd overall which was pretty cool. I got a nice medal, similar to the one from 2009, plus a $15 gift certificate for a Road ID. A great idea and I'd highly recommend getting one if you don't have one, literally it could save your life and certainly will help your loved ones to worry about you a bit less while you are running or biking. But as luck would have it I already have 2 of them, so not sure I'll be able to use that gift certificate but hey it's the thought that counts! I wished Rodney and Rusty luck in the City of Oaks Full Marathon which they were running and headed for home for another fun filled day with the kids. Except for that last mile, the course was actually really fun and it's a great location. So next time I just know I need to do some hill work to prepare!

Race Bling...3rd Female Overall

After thinking about this race and what I'd do differently, aside from hill repeats, I decided to update one of my Garmin screens to show current pace, lap pace (pace of the current mile) and overall pace all on one screen. I am still debating whether to have the 4th spot on the screen show overall distance or overall time. I am thinking I'll go with the time. Hopefully this will help me to pace myself better without having to toggle through screens which it turns out is really hard to do at race pace. I just hope I can keep all the data straight while I am running!

Monster Dash Raleigh NC Oct 30, 2011

2011-11-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

Monster Dash 5K Course

I wasn't planning to run the Second Empire series this year, but after a pretty good performance in the first two races of the series (both sub 20, for the first time ever) and with Keith's unsolicited encouragement (which maybe he'll regret after a few weeks of this!), I decided to consider it. I still played it by ear and didn't pre-register for the next race though, which was the Monster Dash on Oct 30. I was on the fence even as late as the Friday before the race. However a trip to Target to get a few things after having had a glass or two of wine at dinner resulted in the purchase of a Halloween costume.

Dressing room at Target...seemed like a good idea at the time

Since I was not going to trick or treat in it, the only occasion to wear it would be the Monster Dash. My liquid courage did wear off the next day however and I was wondering if I should just skip the costume or the race all together. Owen and I were already signed up to run the 2K fun run as part of the Cross Country Challenge in Raleigh that day. I figured it would be a fun way for him to get a mile or so in towards his goal of 26.2 miles by Nov 20th for the school marathon. So I wasn't entirely sure I could make it over to the Monster Dash in time since the fun run was at 11am and the Monster Dash started at 2:30 and I had to bring Owen back home before I headed over there.

Owen did a great job running the Cross Country Challenge and he liked running over the 2 hay bales. But he was disappointed in himself for coming in at the back of the fun run pack. There were only about 7 kids total in the run and I was proud of him for getting out there and doing it, no matter what his time was. He was pretty upset but he felt a bit better when I agreed to stop for donuts on the way home. We jumped in the car right after the fun run so we'd have time to stop for donuts before I had to get changed and head out for race #2 of the day.

Owen ready to run the Cross Country Challenge 2K

Owen running in the 2K

I got dressed in my "pink witch" costume, which Grace helped to pick out because it was pink of course. I liked it because it didn't seem too bulky and it matched my Zensah compression socks. Yes, true it did not match my Asics, which are bright yellow. But in my defense, I forgot I had donated my perfectly matched pair of hot pink and black Kinvaras the last time I bought new shoes at RRO. Bummer! So I was stuck with either the yellow Asics (super lightweight but more stable that the Kinvaras, called the Speed Sky, they are awesome!) or a very heavy pair of low mileage Saucony Hurricanes, which I hardly wear because they are too heavy, thus why they are low mileage. I decided on the Asics since I was already taking a risk of adding to my time by wearing a costume. I just couldn't bring myself to switch out the shoes too. Sorry Steve (aka Fashion Police), fashion is important but not enough to risk a PR for!

Pre-race photo

I arrived at Cameron Village where the race starts with plenty of time to spare, which is a good thing since I had to park quite far away. My face was probably as bright pink as my costume, since I felt embarrassed by the fact that I had to walk so far wearing it. I got a few looks from folks who clearly weren't aware of the race today. But as I got closer I felt better seeing other runners, at least some of them were dressed up. Whew! I registered and brought my stuff back to the car and by that time I saw a few RTR running friends there (Linda, Larry, Mandy) and several other running friends from the IOS wine run (Louise) and from the local races (Rodney and Rusty). Larry's costume, the Gingerbread Man, was really awesome. I still don't know how he ran it it. It was even better than last year's hot dog costume, he really picks the good ones!

The 1 mile fun run was first, followed by the start for the 5K. As I lined up I chatted a bit with Debra and Kim who are also running the series. I noticed that most of the usual front runners, male and female, were not in costume. Uggh, hopefully I wasn't impacting my time by dressing up. But it was kind of fun to be dressed up. On the starting line, and do mean right on it, there were several little girls probably between 10 and 13 years old. They were right up in the front and weren't budging. There were quite a few surprised and concerned looks from the crowd. Discussion started in the crowd about how they probably should move back. One guy did finally caution them they may want to move back, asking if they were planning to run sub 7 mm pace. They all turned around said "Yes!" in reply, with a confidence I have to admit was surprising but admirable. As the mom of a little girl I was kind of thinking "you go girls!". Their reply got a few laughs from the group and then I said to the guy, "hey watch, they may just show us and be right!". Honestly thought I didn't really believe it and just hoped I wouldn't trip over them since I was directly behind them.

The race started and the girls took off fast, as did most of the group up front. The course takes a right turn after about a block and then really is an out and back after that. I felt pretty good and kept a consistent pace for the first mile or so. Nearly all of the girls were still going strong after 1 mile, and I believe nearly all were still in front of me. Surely they'd slow down soon, right?! I just tried to keep an even pace and not worry about it too much. As I reached the turnaround, which is the part that is very hard for me, I had a tough time focusing. I am always distracted (and not in a good way) by the rest of the pack of runners coming towards me once I reach a turnaround of an out and back race. It's always distracting to me and I always struggle. It's nice to get a shout out from friends of course, but it's hard to really focus on the race with other runners coming at you. I much prefer a loop or winding point to point course for that reason. By mile 2 I was still on pace for a sub 20 and all but one of the "little" girls had dropped back. I was amazed they held on for so long and have to say I admire how well they ran and that they showed us they weren't kidding when they said they'd run sub 7 mm pace. I kept my sights on the one remaining girl ahead of me and on Rodney, who I see at most of the local races and first met on the way to the Boston marathon, who I could see but couldn't seem to catch.

Not sure where this was but I'd assume somewhere in mile 3 from the look on my face, too bad I didn't bring my magic broom to ride to the finish on!

That last mile was very tough and quite painful but I didn't do too much worse in mile 3 (6:32 vs. 6:18 and 6:22 in miles 1 and 2) which was good because that's usually where I fall apart. I slowed in mile 3 but not badly enough to miss another sub 20 thank goodness. The course turns the corner back to the start with about 1 block to go, which I couldn't wait to get back to. I sprinted as fast as I could and realized that I was probably close to my PR from earlier this month (19:55 chip time). In fact it turned out that my chip time of 19:53 in the Monster Dash was now my new PR. Guess I should have worn the pink witch costume, complete with hat which was still intact, sooner!

Approaching the finish!

Can't believe the hat stayed on!

It was a tough last mile and not my favorite course but yet it was a new 5K PR so I was quite happy. This race was larger than the others I'd just run (Autism Run and Run for Healthier Babies), with over 700 runners in this one. Overall I was the 8th woman, as opposed to 4th in the other two races. In this race, only the 1st overall finisher (male and female) received an award separate from the AG (age group) awards. Usually it's the top 3 overall and sometimes even the top 3 masters. But not the case here, so I placed second in my age group. The award was a $15 gift card to TAF, which I am saving in my collection so I can get some more Zensah socks, which seem to have really helped over the last few races.

It was good to see some my friends at the race and it was very nice to chat with some others (Debra, Kim, Emil) that I hadn't had an opportunity to speak with before. I was really happy with my new PR and glad in the end that I did wear the costume, as it made for some interesting photos and didn't seem to hurt my time. Still, I certainly won't be one of those runners that dress up for races that are not on Halloween weekend (I am still bitter that Elvis and Winnie the Pooh faired better at the NYC marathon than I did), but it seems to have worked this time around!

Run for Healthier Babies, Morrisville NC, Oct 15, 2011

2011-10-25T23:47:00.003-04:00

Run for Healthier Babies 5K, really like this course

I spent some time the night before this race checking online results to compare race times between this race and the Run for Autism (my new PR from the weekend before) for prior years, to see if there were any trends that would tell me if I could expect to do better, the same, or worse than last weekend. I wasn't sure at this point if my run last weekend was a fluke or not. I was not necessarily going for a new PR this weekend but just hoped that maybe I could still break 20. I found that for some folks their times were better in the Autism run and for some they were better in the Healthier Babies. Still I knew there were some hills in the Healthier Babies so I figured I may not do as well. I was pre-registered and knew that while it was a challenge last time to find the race start, once I did parking was plentiful, so I headed to the race a bit later than I did the weekend before.

Pre-race food and supplies laid out the night before...a little wine can't hurt right?

I followed my same plan of oatmeal and coffee, plus a banana this time, and brought the cheerios and milk again for pre-race, just in case I had time and was hungry. I ended up seeing a few friends there before the race and chatting, as well as my several port a potty trips (this race is also a good one for port a potty access, never any issues). I warmed up a little bit but before I knew it, the race was about to start. I got on the starting line (one row back). I knew, if not by name at least by face, most of the women up in the front. I also knew I needed to do what I did last week and keep in front of specific folks in order to meet my goal. This time I guess I felt a bit more confident, so when the countdown from 10 to 1 was up to signal the race start, I took off pretty fast to get a good head start. I knew I didn't want to relapse into my old pattern of blazing fast at mile 1 and then crashing in 2 and 3. But I did feel pretty good and the course was as nice as I remembered. Not sure why, but I do like this course. Guess it's because there is some variety of twists and turns and up and down hills. I think it was around 1.5 miles where I passed a few folks that usually run around my pace or a bit faster. I forgot to mention in the last blog update, but I also decided this fall that there was no way I was going to get water at the water stop(s) in a 5K ever again, unless it was blistering hot, because it takes too much time and isn't really needed.

Mile 1 was faster than the average pace I needed but not so fast that I didn't have anything left. I was glad to have a bit of time "in the bank". Mile 2 wasn't bad at all and by the start of mile 3 I was surprised to pass a fellow runner who I have never passed in a 5K before. I was not feeling 100% by this time, but not doing too bad either. Again I followed the plan that worked the weekend before, of looking at my 'current pace' and not looking at the total distance or total time. As I entered the parking lot, I knew, or rather hoped, that meant the end of the race was within 0.5 miles. I was feeling tired and definitely slowed down by that time. Just before this, a guy who was jogging the other way who I assume was affiliated with the race in some way, said to me either "you are third" or "you are catching up to third". I wasn't sure. But either way it didn't much matter because if I was third, I was third. And if I wasn't, I couldn't see the woman who was third and couldn't speed up enough to catch someone I couldn't even see. So it was what it was at that point and anyway I was really going for time and just trying to finish. Once I made the last right turn before making the final left turn into the finish line chute, I really sprinted because I couldn't see the clock from there and had no idea what it would say when I rounded the bend and by that time it may be too late. I knew I had a good chance at another sub 20, given the 'current pace' that I had seen each time I looked down, but knew it would be really close. Turns out it was just over the 19:55 I had last week, but still under 20, so I'll take that! My official chip time was 19:57. I couldn't help but feel happy but also wished I had tried to push it sooner. I know, never satisified right!

Age group award, first place (yep that's me in the pink socks)

I spent some time again chatting with some running friends and then noticed I was feeling cold so I decided to change my shirt but this time to not be lazy so I headed out for a cool down run. But during it I started to feel quite nauseous, so only went 1 mile before giving up. My friend Louise (who is 70 and ran the race and the one last weekend both in under 28 minutes!!!) was so nice, she hunted down a bagel for me to eat which helped the nausea go away. I waited for the results to be posted and again I was 4th overall. Gee, always the bridesmaid, never the bride! Still, I am usually not even in the wedding party, so hey I'll take 4th. By this time, I met up with Sarah, Mia and Myia, who were running the 1 mile fun run. They waited with me while I got my award. I was first in age group, since there were no masters awards this time unfortunately. Interestingly, there was some question as to where the 3rd place finisher came from, since the name was not familiar to me (she was a 17 year old according to the posted results), since there were no young women on the front of the starting line that I saw, and also since someone else mentioned to me that they didn't see anyone cross between the second place finisher and me. But I decided to assume that in a small race such as this there are no Rosie Ruiz-types, so pretty much dismissed the idea. Still, it did occur to me later while driving home that the prizes for this race were cash, which they usually aren't in most races. I wondered how much I missed out on in being 4th instead of 3rd (turns out it was 50 bucks!). Oh well, at least I got a medal to add to my collection!

I hung around to watch the 1 mile fun run and for the awards for that. Sarah and the girls cleaned up, each winning a medal! And in the 5K, it was a PR for Linda from RTR as well as age group placing for several other running friends. It was really a great race and a fun time, and another sub 20 for me didn't hurt either!

Triangle Run/Walk for Autism 5K, Raleigh NC, October 8, 2011

2011-10-25T23:29:00.000-04:00

Triangle Run/Walk for Autism 5K Course

I had a goal this year of running a PR in under 1:35 for the half marathon, as well as a goal of running a sub 20 5K. I achieved the first goal in March of this year and realized with the fun summer I had, I kind of forgotten to focus on my 5K goal. Opps! Thankfully I was focused on another goal of trying to get in decent shape (ie: comfortable in a bathing suit) for a beach trip in September, so at least I had started bumping up my running again by the end of the summer and really was able to get a lot of miles in during the beach trip. I had the chance to run every day while at the beach, usually between 5 to 6 miles each day plus a long run of 10 once. So while the fall race season did sneak up on me a bit, I was sort of ready to tackle a 5K. I had been running in the mornings and found that 30 minutes almost every day was really not too hard to maintain and it really helped my training. So I kept that up and decided to run the race that was my favorite of the Second Empire series. No, this was not the Run for Autism, but was the Run for Healthier Babies. I really liked that course when I ran it in 2009 and it was my PR for a while for the 5K. However I figured I should have at least 2 races picked out so that if I blew one I'd have another shot at a PR, and maybe even the sub 20 goal. My current PR was 20:34, which I ran in March at the Run for the Oaks. I had run my half marathon PR just shortly afterwards but then there were no PRs to be had for the rest of the spring and summer after that. I had only run a few 5Ks with Owen in the last 2 months so I really had no idea what I could do in the 5K. I knew I was running pretty well since the beach trip but hadn't done any speed work or racing so it was anyone's guess as to what I'd run. Could be sub 20, could be 22 or more. But it was now or never because soon it would be winter, so the fall races were my best shot. I decided to do the Run for Autism as a practice run before the real deal at the Run for Healthier Babies. I didn't register ahead of time and was actually feeling a bit under the weather leading up to the race. I had a sore throat and was sniffly the night before, not usually a good sign. I set the alarm and decided to let fate decide. When I woke up I did consider not going...who would really know, I hadn't registered in advance and had only mentioned to one or two people that I was running the race. But in the end I decided to get up, take some more Advil, and just get out there.

I had my standard pre-race oatmeal, but no banana since we didn't have any at home. I did have some coffee which I don't normally do before I run but tried it before my last few races and it seemed to help and today I needed all the help I could get! I also brought some cheerios and milk to have before the race since I was heading out early to be sure I got there in time to register and get a decent parking spot. I got there pretty early and registration was quick. I parked right on Moore Square which was convenient. One thing about the Run for Autism is there are plenty of port a pottys so that's always comforting to me. I always always have to go multiple times before a race, likely all psychological but after my bad experience in Napa where I had to stop to go during the race which cost me a 3rd place age group win, I am even more nervous about it.

I decided to do a short warm up by running around Moore Square and in the process of that saw a few familiar faces from RTR and other running circles. I have to say it was nice to have a break from racing but it was just as nice to get back to it and see some running friends out there. On the starting line I saw a woman who usually runs around the same time, usually a bit faster, than me. I was feeling a bit nervous about the competition there and I knew if I had any chance of meeting my goal, I'd need to stay with her or ahead of her from the start or it would be all over very quickly. I was very glad that the race started on time so as to not prolong my nervousness. I also knew that I needed to run an even pace, not too fast at the start, which is what I typically do, but not so slow that I don't hit my goal. The first mile would be the test, to see if I could keep just below the goal pace of 6:25 and still feel good enough that I could maintain that for the next 2 miles. At the start I made sure I got out there fast, but watched my Garmin carefully to ensure I didn't go crazy. I had done that in 2009 without really realizing it and looked up and noticed I was way too close to a few of the female front runners but instead of slowing down, I was delusional in thinking 'hey maybe I can do this' and then subsequently crashed and burned in mile 2 big time. So determined not to repeat that I focused mostly on my Garmin and switched it to 'current pace' instead of 'average pace for the current mile', which is usually what I do. But at the same time I made sure to keep an eye on that one particular person who I knew I needed to stay ahead of. She was right beside me for the first 1/2 mile, which was distracting for sure but I was determined. Once you give up, that's it, you can't usually get it back. And physically as long as you feel ok, most of it is mental anyway. I just kept my eye on my Garmin but ensured I didn't fall behind her. At around the 1 mile mark she fell back a bit. I didn't look back after that. I knew that was a good sign for me and I still felt pretty good.

As I entered mile 2 I noticed that the neighborhood the race goes through was really nice, which I had not really noticed in 2009 since I was too busy sucking wind. I also was happy to not be running straight since the first mile is pretty much straight down Blount Street. As I headed into the 3rd mile, I was starting to have difficulty maintaining the pace, even falling back to over a 7 mm pace for very brief periods on a hilly section. But having my Garmin on 'current pace' really did help because as soon as I fell behind a bit I was able to correct it immediately. Somewhere in mile 3 I passed a few folks that I know are pretty speedy so I knew I was doing ok, but was starting to feel I couldn't hold on much longer. I was not looking at the total distance during the race because the screen on my Garmin that has the current pace doesn't have the distance on it. Turns out that is probably a good thing because just as I was feeling that I couldn't hold on much longer, I looked in the distance and saw the glorious sight of the blue and white inflatable finish line (most of you know the one, it seems to travel around to all the local races). I knew if I could see the finish I could certainly hold on until I reached it, so I gave it everything I had and sprinted, still not knowing even what the time on the clock was, because my Garmin also doesn't have the total time on that pace screen. I thought I may be close to a PR and possibly even under the 20 minute mark, but as I got close enough to the finish to see the clock I got really excited to see it said 19 and change. As I crossed the finish the clock said 19:5X something, so I knew I had made it. I was more than thrilled. I wondered what place I came in at that point, knowing it had to be in the top 8 or so of all women, and for sure I must have placed in the masters division.

Unofficial results posted at the race

I spent the next 15 or 20 minutes chatting with some running friends about the race. I looked for my friend Pauline to try to run a few more miles but when I didn't find her I didn't really have the energy to do it alone so I just decided to get changed and walk around Moore Square to wait for the results and awards ceremony. I never did get to see the results before the awards as the moved the location of where they posted them without me realizing it. So when the awards were starting, I asked someone where the results were and they told me that I had placed first in the masters female group. Cool! When my name was called I got my award which was a little paperweight marble thing with the race info engraved on it. They mentioned that a gift card would be sent in the mail. It was nice to win but I have to admit that I liked the hand made plates that were given out in 2009 better. They were made by children with autism and it just meant more to me because of that.

I drove home quite happy, with a PR, meeting my goal of a sub 20, a 1st place masters win and an overall place of 4th female. I was really glad I got out of bed that morning to run the race. My sore throat and sniffles did turn into a pretty yucky head cold on Sunday and into Monday unfortunately. But it was worth it! Now I was just hoping I this wasn't a fluke and I would feel better and could repeat this performance the next week, since I had already pre-registered for the Run for Healthier Babies!

The "race bling" is the the mail

P.S. - I was beginning to wonder if I mis-heard them when they said they'd send a gift card in the mail but about 2 weeks later, not only a gift card for $50 but a really nice plaque came. Pretty neat!

Friesen Run with the Canes 5K, Raleigh NC, September 11, 2011

2011-10-25T23:05:00.000-04:00

Friesen Run with the Canes 5K Course, was more fun than it actually looks

Owen decided, all by himself, that he was going to run the 26.2 miles needed to do his school's "marathon" this year. The kids need to run 26.2 miles over the course of a few months and at the end, if they finish, they get a medal. Owen got about half to the goal last year when he decided to quit. It was so painful to get him to run at that time that I allowed him to give up, even though I was disappointed, so that I could end the misery for both of us. Of course when the time came for the other kids to get medals, he cried when he didn't get the medal. It was very sad but a good lesson learned...you have to earn it. So this year, I didn't push it, but he said he really wanted to try again and would finish the program this time. This time around, I mostly let him decide when we'd run and how far. I mentioned the Run with the Canes race to him to see if he wanted to try to get 3.1 miles done in one shot. Since he did so well finishing the Dutchman Downs 5K in July, he was eager to try this race.

Shoe chips ready!

The race had a very nice tribute for the 10th anniversary of Sept 11th

On the morning of the race, we headed to the RBC center and we got our race bibs, t-shirts and chips for our shoes and were ready to go! Grace was sick that morning so she and Keith stayed home. Before the race started, they did a nice tribute in memory of those who lost their lives on Sept 11th, 2001. Then the players and Pete Friesen got up on the stage to say a few words about the race. It was great to see so many players there. Unfortuately I didn't really plan ahead that well to figure out which hockey player was which, and without their jerseys on, it was hard for me to tell. So we really didn't feel right about going up to get pictures or autographs since it's kind of embarassing when you don't know who they are. Eric Stahl was the only one I really recognized, well and Stormy the mascot!

Checking out the merchandise in The Eye

Pre-race photo in The Eye

Blending in with the jerseys

Canes team on stage

Owen at the race start

Looking good in the first mile

Made it to mile 2!

Owen taking off right after he told me he was stopping to rest!

Sprinting to the finish

Basking in the post race glory

Soon it was time to line up for the race. Lots of kids were there but most were running the fun runs (50 and 100 yard dashes) so Owen got a lot of surprised looks from other runners when he lined up for the 5K. But he was an old pro at this now, since this was his second one! He looked a bit nervous so I just told him to stick by me and walk if he needed to. There were a lot of runners at the start so we got pretty far back so that he wouldn't get trampled and started off with a slow jog when the race began. The first part of the race is through the RBC center parking lot which sounds dull but it was kind of nice actually. The race then goes past the NC State stadium and onto some of the local roads. I was surprised at how much running Owen did. He really seemed to enjoy the race and didn't complain but instead thought it was pretty funny to tell me he was going to walk and then he'd take off sprinting once I slowed down. As we entered the RBC parking lot again, we sprinted to the finish line and Owen finished his second 5K race!

Race results

Pancakes!

Owen promised to wear this hat if I bought it

I was really proud of Owen for running the race because he wanted to, not because I wanted him to. I was glad he was able to finish the whole race. He wasn't even upset that he didn't get a medal, which is a big step for him. After the race they served pancakes which we enjoyed and then went over to watch the kids dashes and got a photo taken with Stormy. Then we went into The Eye (Hurricanes store, which was conveniently open for the race) and got a few things (Canes flag, puck head hat, etc) and headed out to meet Grace and Keith for brunch since Grace was feeling better. While it was by far the slowest official 5K race I have ever run, I had the best time because Owen really enjoyed it!

Stormy!

Napa 2 Sonoma Half Marathon, Napa Valley CA, July 17, 2011

2011-10-25T22:16:00.001-04:00

Napa 2 Sonoma Half Marathon Course

Well I haven't been "blogging" in a long time but the good news is it's because I've been busy running and having fun with the family over the summer and early fall. But I thought it was time to try to catch all my "fans" (yes all 9 of you) up on where I've been with racing, as if you didn't already know from Facebook. So here it goes...

Cool race logo

Ah, the Napa 2 Sonoma Half Marathon, which I like to refer to as "my hard-learned lesson in training for a race actually does matter". We had an AWESOME time in Napa and Sonoma. Great food, wine, weather, shopping. The race however...well, not so great. It was a beautiful course, a bit hilly but not terribly so. Great weather. Amazing scenery. I'd highly recommend it as a destination race. Really perfect...if I was actually prepared for it. I only have myself to blame (well that and work I guess which was pretty crazy leading up to the race) that I was not better trained. I somehow convinced myself that a half marathon wasn't so bad so I could just "bang one out" if I needed to, without too much trouble. Ummm, wrong! It was my worst half marathon time in recent history. Still a respectable time of course, but not compared to my recent races.

Finally done!

Race Results

As if that wasn't bad enough, this was the first time EVER that I stop at a port a potty during the race. The race started late and I didn't have enough time to get on line again (the lines were terrible!). So I missed third place age group, by just about the amount of time of a port a potty stop! Lesson learned...find a spot to squat before the race at all costs to avoid this mishap again. The prize was a bottle of wine. I know, I know, I am in wine country so can taste and buy all the wine I want, right? Still, nothing beats wine earned by winning a race, or so I'd imagine anyway. Ok, so wine tasting that afternoon and a good dinner helped me to get over it, but I still wish I had done better in this race since I know I could have, if I had trained just a bit harder. Oh well, no use crying over spilt wine.

Post-race photo, with glasses ready to start washing away my sorrows, uh I mean to start tasting!

Entrance to Opus One

At Opus One

Joseph Phelps Winery

Swanson Vineyards

"Pre-wine"

Cakebread Cellars

On our trip, we got to re-visit several of the wineries and restaurants we went to on our honeymoon nearly 11 years prior. We visited several new places as well. So all in all, a great trip, but more so for the social aspect rather than running one. This race did teach me a few important lessons though. I decided to not put any longer races on my calendar this year unless I could train for them. Instead I just focused the rest of the summer on running for fun and getting in better shape for our upcoming beach trip in September. We had a great rest of the summer with the kids, much of which we spent at Dutchman Downs pool. Still there is likely no swimming in my future despite that. But at least Owen is a great swimmer now and they allow wine at the pool, which made for a more relaxing summer!

Dutchman Downs 5K, Cary NC, July 2, 2011

2011-10-25T21:35:00.001-04:00

Dutchman Downs 5K Course

There used to be a really nice race on July 4th weekend in downtown Raleigh. It was a 4 mile race that went through some really nice old neighborhoods. But due to a decline in participation, they decided not to have the race this year. Bummer. So when I found out that because we belonged to the swimming pool in the Dutchman Downs neighborhood, we were welcome to join the July 4th festivities, even though we don't live in the neighborhood, I was kind of excited to run their neighborhood 5K run. I knew they had a race since I had seen the mile markers painted for it. I often run through the Dutchman Downs neighborhood, since it's a nice older neighborhood with tree lined streets that reminds me of New Jersey neighborhoods. Don't get me wrong, I like our new neighborhood with it's updated coordinated landscaping and all, but sometimes I miss the old NJ neighborhoods I used to run in. When I mentioned I might go over there that morning to do the race, I was really surprised when Owen asked if he could do it with me. I explained that this was 3 miles and the farthest he'd ever run before in a race was 1 mile. In the 1 mile fun runs he has participated in he typically would run out of steam about half way through and then would complain for the rest of the race. But I could tell this time he was determined to do it, so I said ok and we headed over to the pool parking lot to check it out.

Owen with his cool race number (yeah, it was a small neighborhood race, can you tell?)

I had no idea how many people would run in this race or what type of runners there would be. Turns out it was mostly high school kids (lifeguards and their friends, track team kids, etc) and a few older folks who were walkers. Owen was certainly the youngest runner. He was pretty excited about that. The hand written race numbers were a nice touch and Owen liked his number, "1010". At the start, we took off pretty fast and I encouraged him to pace himself but I was mostly unsuccessful in convincing him. Owen has two speeds, fast sprint and slow walk, which he alternated between for most of the first mile. He would speed up to pass people, and of course would brag about it, sometimes too loudly! And then he'd walk and they'd pass him again. By mile 2 he looked pretty tired, but I just kept encouraging him to keep going and that he was doing great. We were, by the start of mile 3, dead last but he was still moving at least. Even the walkers had passed us by this point, but we kept going, walking when he needed to.

Owen and his friend Jack

We passed Owen's friend Jack's house in the 3rd mile. Jack was getting ready for the July 4th parade that was to follow the 5K. Jack had his roller skates on and balloons tied to his bike helmet. This distracted Owen enough to get him excited about finishing, so we could get back in time for the start of the parade. We rounded the last corner with less than the 0.l mile to go and I saw that the race organizers had a roll of toilet paper held across the road as finish line tape for Owen to cross. He sprinted to the finish, breaking the "tape". It was really cool! I came in after him so technically I was last.

Owen after finishing the race

Owen and Jack in the parade

The parade was a lot of fun. I had to walk/run it to keep up since Owen and Jack got a ride on a neighbor's golf cart. After the parade, we went swimming and had some post race snacks at the pool. It was a great way to start the July 4th weekend and I was very proud of Owen for finishing his very first 5K!

Second Empire 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run, Raleigh, April 17, 2011

2011-04-22T12:05:00.053-04:00

Second Empire 5K Course

This is the 3rd year that I have run in the Second Empire race, sponsored by Second Empire Restaurant in Raleigh. In 2008 it was my very first race since moving to North Carolina. My first race in over 5 years, since before Owen was born. I didn't do too bad that first year, sub 24 minutes, given my primary training was on weekends pushing one of the kids in the jogging stroller. That same year the kids both did the 50 yard dash. In 2009 they didn't have the race since they moved it from the fall to the spring. In 2010, I ran the 1 mile race with Owen and the 50 yard dash with Grace. I skipped the 5K since it was soon after Boston and I wanted to focus on running for fun, just with the kids. Good thing too because it was really hot and humid that day. This year I wanted to use the race as one of my 5K's leading up to what I hope will result in a sub 20 5K before the end of this year. I wasn't feeling confident that this was the race for that since I hadn't been really training, but I was hoping for a decent time and to have a fun day. I was registered for the 5K and Owen and Grace decided that morning that they'd both do the 1 mile instead of the 100 yard dash. I was very proud of them when they even said they didn't care if they got a medal or not, but just wanted to do the 1 mile.

O & G practicing their starting line pose

While I was proud of the kids, in looking back at the 5K race, I am both proud and a bit disappointed in my performance. I really haven't had much time to run or train so I should be pretty pleased with my overall time considering this (20:49 gun, 20:47 chip). It wasn't a PR (PR is 20:34), but it wasn't too shabby. I accepted fairly early in the race that a PR wasn't in the cards, I just wasn't into it that day (late day race start, tired, sniffles, little running in the past few weeks, etc). And at the halfway point I was well beyond 10 minutes so it was highly unlikely I would catch up and reach a sub 20. Since those were really my 5K time goals (PR or sub 20), at that point I decided I was comfortable with just maintaining my place and not focusing much on time other than still wanting a sub 21.

I figured that I would be second masters female overall since I knew the woman directly in front of me was in the master's category and I was sure the other women I had seen ahead were younger. I felt just too tired and not motivated enough really to try to catch her. However, the flaw in that plan was that I was completely wrong in thinking I was second masters female. I was actually second OVERALL female. How that occurred I have no idea! I mean I know one contributing factor was that many of the super fast (i.e. sub 20) local women clearly had other plans that day. We had tornados the day before which is highly unusual so that perhaps kept some away. But how did I not know I was second overall? I guess I just wasn't expecting it since it never happens and I swear I saw several women in front of me. But when I finished Keith told me I was second. I didn't believe him until I saw the results posted. Had I known this I may have tried harder to close that 5 second gap between first and second. It's really all mind over matter and I let matter win this time. I always say I am a firm believer in the power of positive thinking (well at least running-wise) and not giving up in a race. I think if I had been motivated more and wanted it more things may have been different. Oh well, a lesson re-learned I suppose!

O & G practicing for their big finish

Waiting for the race to start

Waiting to cheer mommy on

Before the race we had a quick bite at the Flying Saucer, our official parking lot for the Second Empire race since we discovered how close it was to the start last year. It's also a wonderful alternative to waiting in the port-a-potty line (you know I couldn't go an entire blog post without mentioning the port-a-potty!). The race itself started off as any other. I saw some running friends including Pauline at the start. The race began and several men and a few women were ahead of me. Pretty typical. The race heads east on Hillsborough towards the capitol, goes around it and heads back towards and past the starting line, west Hillsborough, and back to the start again. I recall in the beginning having issues with my Garmin. It was reading sub 6 but I am sure I wasn't going that fast so was pretty focused on what was going on there. However I swear I saw several younger women in front of me as we rounded the square at the capitol. And I also swear that I did not pass any women along the way. So how, you may wonder, did I get to be second overall then? Well that is just what I'd like to know! I can only assume that the few women I saw in front of me were just running the start of the race for fun or something and then dropped out. Keith later confirmed at the 1 mile mark he also had seen other women in front, so guess they did drop. Curses!

I ran the first mile in 6:29, so fairly on target for the sub 20 but clearly too fast for how I was feeling. I was feeling slow and sluggish at the start of mile 2. Yep falling back into that old routine of crash and burn in mile 2. I don't know if allergies played a part or the warmer weather or the later start time or just that it was hillier in mile 2, but I just couldn't motivate myself enough to care more. It showed in my split time, with a mile 2 split of 6:53. I tried to refocus in mile 3 and to muster up some more energy to speed up. I was somewhat successful and finished mile 3 in 6:35 and the last 0.1 or so in just over 6 minutes. I really didn't feel too guilty for giving up on trying for a PR, afterall they can't all be PRs. I also sort of felt I needed a break from chasing the PR. Still the second place finish is both awesome and a bit disappointing because I keep thinking just maybe it could have been a first place one (well just maybe, but in reality the woman in front of me was looking pretty strong so maybe I couldn't have caught up anyway, but still....) and how often will that opportunity come up again.

The struggle to the finish, nice face!

Nearly done

After the 5K, they had the 100 yard dash but Owen and Grace decided they were doing the mile instead so we just watched that. They felt like real big kids, watching the little kids run. Results were posted for the 5K pretty fast so I knew I placed second overall before the kids races. Keith had come to the 5K but needed to leave before the 1 mile to catch a flight to Germany. So I hung out with the kids until the 1 mile race start. Owen was excited since I told him he could take off and run on his own as long as he waited for us at the end. Grace however started a meltdown before we even began to run. "Carry me!" was her request, or rather demand. No way, for a 50 yd dash yes, but not for a 1 mile little girl! So she ran a bit but then got tired and was complaining and crying. We walked a lot and I carried her a little. In fact the only negative about the entire day was the female police officer bringing up the rear of the race actually made us move over onto the sidewalk instead of letting us run the race like the other kids in the street. Yes we were last, but would it really have killed her to ride behind us, as she is supposed to do, and let us finish like the other kids?! Really, what was the time difference, like 5 minutes? Hillsborough had been closed all morning, what's an extra 5 minutes? I hadn't realized there was a time cutoff for the 1 mile fun run, geez! Quite disappointing but whatever, we didn't let it ruin our day.

Ready for the start of the 1 mile

Owen took off so fast that he was nearly at the front of the pack at the start! It was really cool. I was worried because he was so far ahead but we saw him after he turned around after the 1/2 mile point and he was still running and looking strong. Grace pulled a Rosie Ruiz and never quite made it to the half way point, we just turned around when we saw Owen so we wouldn't be too far behind him. Once he saw me he slowed and walked but I encouraged him to keep going. At that point Grace took off, sprinting down the street (way to go Rosie!). I guess the thought of beating her big brother was just too exciting! That prompted Owen to start running again and Grace slowed and stopped, complaining a bit again. Owen took off for the finish and I ran/walked with Grace to get her to make it to the end. She was dead last, but everyone cheered for her. Ok well correction, I was actually dead last since I knew she wanted to beat me. Hmmm, first last place finish for me, but it was really fun! In the end they got medals anyway for the 1 mile, which I was not sure they would. They were really happy but more excited at the prospect of getting ice cream afterwards.

Owen looking strong just after the 1/2 mile point

Grace (aka Rosie Ruiz) seizing her opportunity to get in front of Owen

Owen doing a great job!

Grace out-kicking mommy

Race bling!

The 5K awards were held pretty soon after the 1 mile finished, so I got my second place race bling...$75 gift certificate to Second Empire Restaurant, which I will be using tonight, $35 gift card to TAF, and a nice engraved glass to add to my collection in my home office. Not too shabby! Once again a great race experience at Second Empire. By the way, Pauline placed 1st in AG, with a time of 22:46, way to go Pauline!

Award ceremony

Going to Second Empire tonight...yummy!

My race bling

Next race...well pondering the Bunny 5K in Cary (new race from Lifetime Fitness) tomorrow AM but my calves are quite sore and going to Second Empire tonight, so we'll see. I am still considering the Run for Our Heros 5K on Apr 30, depends on what kid activities are going on that day, and the 12 Oaks 5K on May 22 which benefits our local Kraft YMCA. That is the same day as the IOS half marathon, but not really feeling quite ready for that one so I'll likely do the 5K. I guess I'd better get back to training for the half soon though since I have the Napa to Sonoma half in July which will be here before I know it!

Looking too cute while picking at Second Empire...sorry guys!

Quintiles Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon, March 20, 2011

2011-03-22T07:46:00.062-04:00

Course and elevation from my Garmin

Are we done yet?

How about now?

Finish line

Owen on the USS North Carolina in Wilmington

I am sitting on the balcony on our last day here in Wrightsville Beach writing this, trying to ignore the fact that in a few hours we need to pack up to head home. I love home of course, but just not looking forward to work again tomorrow. So lets just ignore that for now and focus on the hazelnut coffee, sunrise, and blog. :-)

Speaking of coffee, by the way, I think from here forward I will never travel somewhere by car for a vacation and not bring my own coffee, coffee maker and milk. It's made this trip much nicer! But back to the race report. I was traveling a bit for work right up until this race so I didn't have much time to pack or plan except whatever planning I did months ago when I registered for the race and reserved a room. So the day I was leaving was when I was trying to finish up some important work stuff while packing and figuring out how to get to the hotel. I managed to get all that done by 1:30 or so, an hour later than I had hoped to pick Grace up at daycare, but we were still able to get on the road early enough. Grace was very excited to go on the trip with mommy. Owen and Keith would meet us Saturday after Owen's soccer game. So it was girls day/night at the beach on Friday. Yay!

After a quick stop at McDonald's (yup, lunch of champions!) we headed down. Traffic was really no problem and Grace entertained herself by drawing pictures on my ipad. She is quite the little artist. It's really amazing how much detail she can remember of a particular Disney or Nick Jr show character and then get that all into her drawings. I was focused on trying to figure out my cruise control which I had never used until now, almost 9 months after getting this car, and listening to tunes on the iphone. Grace sang along with the only ones she knows, which happen to be the ones that Owen encouraged me to download (Justin Bieber of course and then a few from track out). Except for one wrong turn near the end of the trip, we got there without any issues by 4:30pm.

We checked in and headed right for the expo so we could get that out of the way. Let me just say that after going to expos at the Marine Corp, NYC and Boston Marathons, it was quite different. I had actually been to one other expo besides these 3, for the Myrtle Beach half marathon, even though the race itself ended up being cancelled for snow in 2010. I had thought that was a small one, but this one was I'd say 1/10th the size of MB. Still it was a nice, but I didn't really need any running stuff so Grace just grabbed any free candy from whichever tables she could, using her cuteness factor. I got my bib number, chip and t-shirt (a nice bright red short sleeve one...first note to all race directors of which none are probably reading this...if you are doing a short sleeve cotton shirt, just don't bother and do something else, anything else, instead). After that we took a quick peek at the beach and pool at the Shell Island Resort and then headed back to our hotel, the Holiday Inn. Originally I had booked a room at Shell Island because it was cheap and it was the host hotel. But then I asked for advice on the place and afte considering it further, I decided to go with the Holiday Inn since I'd been here before.

Grace of course wanted to go to the indoor pool first, so we did that and then we showered and headed out for dinner. We asked the front desk staff where to go and they recommended Bridge Tender, which is just across the drawbridge on the mainland, but has a nice view of the intracoastal waterway (ICW). So off we went since on island choices are limited and we had already been to Oceanic, which is nice and scenic but the food was just ok. Bridge Tender was just the perfect spot. Good food and wine for me, great kids menu for Grace. She was so excited about the popcorn shrimp that when the waiter brought over her milk she said "Hey, where's my shrimp!" Not so polite but it was pretty funny! They also had a fish tank filled with fish just like Nemo, Marlin and Dori, so Grace was quite happy. It was a late dinner so once we got back to the room we watched some tv and went to bed.

On Saturday we spent time relaxing a bit in the room and then collecting shells on the beach. Grace swore she did not want to go down to the beach, she was busy playing and coloring. But once she was there she had a great time, running into the cold water and collecting broken shells. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for sure because she was not interested in the whole ones, only the big broken ones. We decided after the beach to do a bit of shopping, after having lunch on the patio at the hotel. We got some shark tooth necklaces and a few other things and then headed back so we could be around when Keith and Owen arrived. Once they got there, we all went to the indoor pool of course because that's all kids ever want to do is go to the pool!

We weren't too creative for dinner and headed over to Bridge Tender again. It was the night before the race and so pasta is usually in order, but I ended up getting the grouper and crab meat special and just hoped that there would be no tummy issues. I also couldn't pass up the decent by the glass wine selection so had some of that too. For me, at least, I don't think that has had any negative impact for races, as long as it's limited. We came back to the room and I got everything laid out for the race, which was to start VERY early at 6:38 (yep, 6:38, not 6:30) AM. There was an attempt to watch Tron on the pay per view, but we were all falling asleep so we turned it off and got to bed pretty early. I always wake up in the middle of the night, so that night was no exception. When I did wake up, I was surprisingly able to get back to sleep pretty easily which is sometimes difficult for me, particularly before a race. All was going well until about 3am when I had a dream that seemed quite real. I looked at the clock and it said 7:12 AM. I freaked out (in the dream) and still tried to make it to the race with of course everything going wrong and no one else seeming to listen or care that I was trying to get there. Your typical bad dream scenario. I woke up and was so thankful that it was a dream but then did have a bit of trouble sleeping after that, fearing that my iphone alarm would fail me.

Of course I got up on time, and fumbled my way through getting coffee (my new ritual, usually I skip it pre run and race but I tried it prior to my last race and it seemed to help), breakfast and getting dressed. This included re-pinning my bib several times as well as getting my laces though my timing chip just right. It was a flimsy disposable one, so the plus is you don't have to return it but the minus, it looked more likely to break off. I have never lost a chip or had one not work but if I did I think I'd be pretty upset so I ensured this one was on as tight as possible. Then I headed down to meet John and Laura so we could jog over to the start.

I usually don't do the warm-up runs that most really good runners do, possibly because I am not in that category, but also because I am either lazy or really just focused on conserving my energy. But since I wasn't sure what parking would be like, or traffic, and since it was less than 2 miles (turned out to be probably closer to 1 mile or so) I decided to run over with them. Plus I guessed they had looked at the course and actually knew where the start was, which I did not. So it was a chilly but good run over. Traffic was non existent so we could have driven over but really running was the way to go. I was now warmed up and of course immediately got in the porta a potty line and then got in line again, which is really the trick for me...just keep getting on line because you have to wait around anyway and by the time you have to go again, it's too late and the line is too long. So after two times there, I dropped my bag with some warm (but not warm enough I later discovered) clothes and headed to the start.

I dropped my stuff off just as the Star Spangled Banner was playing, at 6:30 on the dot. This race was punctual! I actually had to ask which direction was the start because people were everywhere and I didn't see any big blow up arch that is typical in races. Turns out it was around a corner and pretty far from where I was. I used to feel it was pushy to move up front if I wasn't already up there early enough. Now, I don't feel that way. I politely excuse myself up to the starting line. I usually don't get right on the line but one row behind. I figure that the winners are usually up there and one second won't kill me but more than that might. I am sure some runners see me pushing past and are like, uh, where does she think she's going? She doesn't look so speedy. But hey, I figure if I have a shot at placing in masters overall or age group, I should be up there because they often use gun time for awards. So I got right up there and John, Laura and their friend Brian were already up there. It also pays to be up front because then your blurry face can be seen for 1 second on the local news clip on their website! My one second of fame.

Good thing I weaved my way up to the front quickly because unlike some other local races I've been to that haven't started on time, this one actually started early. My watch said 6:35 on the dot when the horn went off. It was still dark and a bit cold, but really perfect for the race. As we started to run, I tried to prevent myself from going all out, which is hard when you are up in front. I had to try hard to slow down and just let go of the thoughts I had while people passed me. Of course many of these were people who are fast but were laid back and didn't care if they moved up to the start. I am not sure who these people are, as I don't believe I know any of them! And others of these were people who go out crazy fast the first mile and then burn out by mile 3 or 4. Often guys with gym shorts, ipods and tennis shoes. So I focused on my average mile pace, knowing I needed to keep it below 7:15 but should really be above 7 or 7:05 in order to not run out of steam. I was determined to run this race at a more even pace. It was flat enough so it should be possible. As I ran the first mile and tried to settle into a good pace, the sun wasn't even up. Even through the second mile, it was still dark. It felt really good to be out so early before most people were even out of bed. It was also perfect weather. A bit brisk but not uncomfortable. As we headed down Lumina Ave into Wrightsville Beach, there were a few people out cheering us, and a woman with a little baby who was clearly up anyway, was out there ringing a cow bell and shouting, whooo, go runners, let's wake up the neighborhood! I thought that was pretty funny. It was really a great start to the race.

Not having looked at the course that closely since I knew I'd likely have people to follow, I wasn't quite always sure where we were, but I think that the first few miles were on Harbor Island and on Wrightsville Beach proper. Then we ran back over the bridge onto Harbor Island again and then over the drawbridge where I noticed a pretty strong cross wind. Still it felt good to be out there. We headed now onto the mainland making our way towards the Landfall neighborhood where the latter part of the race is run. I felt good for the first 3 miles, and as I have noticed in other races between 10 and 13 miles long, mile 4 was where I started to feel the first signs of being mentally tired, struggling to maintain the pace. In particular in this and a few other races, where the front of the pack (ie: the first 100 or so runners in this case) were by now a bit spread out. So if you were in that group, you were starting to now run single file. From my experience, it's much harder to judge pace once you reach that point. So as opposed to the first few miles where I had to try to slow down to be above 7 minute miles, at mile 4 I had to speed up to keep under 7:15.

I am at a disadvantage as I write this post now because I sent my dirty running clothes, along with my Garmin, back home with Keith who left on Sunday afternoon. So I'll have to go back and update this once I have my Garmin in hand. Beyond mile 5 I felt better, as I usually do. I believe that around the 6 mile mark or so is when the race enters the Landfall neighborhood. It was a nice change from the open road. The sun was now up and it was a beautiful day. So far the only negative was the Heed at the water stops (yuck! and orange flavor, even worse) but I was aware of that so I was prepared for it. At least they had paper cups...for anyone involved in the beverage container selection for races who may be reading this (I am guessing no one, but putting it out there), there is nothing worse than providing plastic cups at a water stop! They crack and then you either spill the water or gatorade (or worse yet, Heed) on yourself or on the ground, or you try to drink without squeezing them and then get it up your nose. Not a pretty sight. Of course, one 5K race I ran a few years ago had the ultimate worst, plastic DIXIE cups. Essentially a thimble full of water, not at all useful. But back to this race...

The rest of the course essentially goes through the Landfall neighborhood and then brings you back out along the main roads in the area again. I recall going through Landfall around mile 8 and being passed by a few men, but was listening to the breathing to see if any women were approaching. I was thankful that one guy just sounded like a girl when he breathed. I sensed there was probably a woman back there gaining on me but really what could I do but just maintain my pace since that was a challenge at this point. I dropped to a 7:30 pace around that point so quickly sped up to bring it back to under 7:15. I did see a woman in front of me and thought I could probably pass her just by keeping my pace between 7:05 and 7:15. Around mile 9, a woman did pass me but she was going much faster so I knew it would be a bad move to try to catch her. I did, shortly after that, pass the other woman. So all in all I maintained my place in the race as far as females go through the entire race.

Mile 10 is around when you exit the Landfall neighborhood I believe and turn back out onto the main roads. I felt tired but pretty good. Mile 11 is usually where I have difficulty. Since I wasn't really hurting anywhere and didn't feel bad, I figured this would be mostly mental fatigue during this race at mile 11. Well that plus the wind, which I know everyone mentioned but honestly I didn't feel it as much as the feeling of just wanting to maintain pace and get this over with. I tried instead to focus on the run and the fact that it was really a nice day to be out there and I may not get to run again for a few days. That helped a little. And the cheering from the crowds back out on the main roads was also a good distraction. At that point though I was just looking for the turn off to the finish line. I got through mile 11 and kept my pace and then just tried to focus on the last 1.1. It was a struggle to keep below 7:15, and I creeped up to 7:20's and then back down to 7:17 or so. Once we got to the traffic light which I thought we were making a right at, back into the Landfall neighborhood, I realized that the half marathoners were actually going left instead, into a shopping center.

At this point there was about 0.6 to go, so I just tried to "keep the wheels" on, even though I was really feeling done by now. The rest of the course twists and turns around so that you really don't see the finish until you are nearly there, which again for me is usually a good thing. Once I saw the 13 mile marker and managed to keep that last mile below my 7:15 goal. Then I came upon the final corner and I sprinted to the finish. For the first time, I was able to see my total time on the big clock. I had my Garmin on average mile pace so the overall time isn't on that screen. It was 1:34 and change, which meant I'd get my PR and my goal of sub 1:35. I kind of knew that I'd make it by about mile 10 or 11, barring any injuries, because all miles were sub 7:15 which was what I needed to achieve sub 1:35. But still it was good to see on the big clock. I crossed the finish feeling quite nauseous from the sprint, but didn't actually toss any cookies (or whatever I ate for breakfast) thankfully. My final time was 1:34:22 chip time, 1:34:25 gun time.

I had seen John around mile 12 so he came in right after me (due to an injury) and then we saw Laura and Brian who had been finished for a while now. It was actually pretty chilly so I got my bag of dry clothes (or semi dry since I had worn the shirt on the jog over to the start) and changed, got some pretzels and cookies, and a beer! Then there was the long windy chilly wait for the results to be posted, followed by the award ceremony wait. Not that I am complaining, as awards are great, but the wait is sometimes hard when you are cold and tired. There were plenty of great stores in the shopping center, and I had been smart enough to bring cash and a credit card in a small plastic baggy in my running shorts pocket (having to walk back from the Boston marathon finish 2 miles to the hotel due to no cab fare helped me to remember that), however ALL were closed as it was early on a Sunday. So I finally broke down and got a fashionable heat sheet and wrapped myself in that as I waited. I had seen on the results that I was the 3rd masters (geez I hate that word for some reason) female overall. I was also 12th overall female out of 1016 women and 71 overall of 1574. When it was time for the awards, I got a Quintiles beer glass with a check was in it. In error they gave me the first place one, which was $100. Darn, I had to give it back and get my $50 check. But still, I'll take it. It was a great race course, well organized, and a great morning to run it. Even the wind wasn't too terrible. Get me some gatorade next time instead of Heed (and make the water and gatorade cups different to be really top notch) and I'll be very happy to do it again next year. :-)

As we waited for the race results and awards, we spent the time looking at the real-time results from Tobacco Road since many friends were running that on the same day, just 30 to 45 minutes behind our start. It was a great day for some, and not as great for others. As runners, we can all relate to that, some days are PR days but many are not. I was proud to know so many runners out there who were giving it their all. Congrats to all who met their goals, whatever they were. To friends who didn't achieve what they had hoped for this time around, we all know how hard you worked and are so proud of you and know that at a race sometime soon, it will be your day! And we'll be cheering you on, either from the race course, running along in the race with you, or from an iPhone somewhere else. :-)

After the awards, we thankfully were able to get a ride on the trolley bus back not just to the starting line but to our hotel itself, which we weren't expecting. After showering, I went with Owen to walk on the beach, which by now was very windy and cold, and then to grab some lunch. Keith and Grace left around lunch time so they could get back for Keith to work Monday. I decided to keep Owen here with me for a few days since he is tracked out so that he could have some mommy and Owen time, like Grace had with me on Friday. We met up with John, Laura and Sophie, Laura's daughter, for lunch. Then we did the required pool and hot tub since Owen hadn't had much time on Saturday to enjoy that. We had a good dinner at Bluewater, but I decided I liked Bridge Tender better, just nice ambiance.

On Monday we spent the entire day in Wilmington, doing everything from a horse drawn carriage ride, to lunch on our own private balcony overlooking the Cape Fear River, to touring the USS North Carolina battleship, where Owen exclaimed "this is the best day of my life!". Unfortunately there were no boat tours running this early in the season on a weekday, but we had lots of fun anyway. We then went on the beach for a bit and had a late dinner, again at Bridge Tender after trying to go to two other places that ended up being closed.

So now we are getting packed up and heading down to our last trip to the pool and hot tub before hitting the road. The trip was awesome and the race was lots of fun. Thanks to John, Laura and Brian for including me in the trip over to the start and back to the hotel. It was nice to have some company there. And thanks to Keith for bringing the kids back and forth to the beach so they could have a mini vacation.

Next race...not sure yet. I am registered for the Second Empire 5K in mid April, but may do a race before that if I feel up to it. I still have my sights on a sub 20 5K this year, which will be a challenge. I think that will take a bit more training, so don't expect I'll hit it in April, but the Second Empire 5K will be a good test run to try to even out my 5K pace in preparation for chasing that sub 20!

P.S. - I added some of the "lovely" race photos to this post. And keep in mind these were the best looking ones, so you definitely don't want to see the bad ones! Yikes.

Run for the Oaks 5K, March 12, 2011

2011-03-21T09:16:00.023-04:00

Once again I am behind in my blogging, which is kinda sad since I only blog about races and have only run two this year. Work has been quite busy with a bit of travel so that is my excuse right now. I am sitting in the room at the Holiday Inn Sunspree in Wrightsville Beach, NC so before Owen and I start our day at the beach, I though I'd get started on my post on both the Run for the Oaks 5K (this post) and the Quintiles Wrightsville Beach half marathon (next post). In case anyone is following along with my 2011 race schedule (probably just me), I did end up skipping the St. Patty's Run Green on Mar 5th. Too many things going on that day (soccer, birthday party, dinner with friends, etc) and I also had flashbacks to the hot hilly 2009 race, so decided to skip it.

I ran the Run for the Oaks 5K in 2009. It was only my 3rd race since being in NC and the first one where I really sort of trained for it (I started running with the Raleigh Trail Runners in February 2009). It was freezing rain or really just barely above freezing because it was technically rain. So this year was beautiful in comparison. A bit chilly but perfect weather really. I got to the race early enough and got a great parking spot right on the corner of Blount and Hargett, across from Marbles Museum. John W. was just coming back to his car when I got there so we went over to pick up my race packet and of course find a port a potty (my ritual). We saw Sarah and Barry there too and a few other familiar faces from the local running scene. As I was not going to do a long warm up, I brought back my stuff to the car and then got ready for the race by taking off any unnecessary clothing. I ended up just with shorts, tshirt and my arm warmer thingys and gloves. I was so excited (sad I know) to finally wear them in a race. They are pretty awesome.

I found Sarah and Barry again and after another trip or two to the porta potty, Sarah and I did a really quick warm up and then ran to the starting line. I always make sure to get up front these days because I know awards are based on gun time and I need all the help I can get! I was hoping for a PR today but didn't feel I really deserved it because I hadn't really done the training I had planned to do. It had been a cold winter so I did speed work only once outdoors and a few times on the treadmill. But not really any in recent weeks. My planned Thursday tempo runs (target of 7:20 or less) had also turned into fun Thursday Cary/Apex area runs at about 8 to 8:30 pace, which I enjoyed but then really had no idea if I could keep up the tempo run pace since I hadn't done any recently. But you gotta have some fun right?! Beyond a PR, which was 20:49 (Run for Healthier Babies 2009), I also was hoping for a sub 20 5K at some point in 2011 but that would be a miracle if it happened today.

So at the starting line I tried to focus on thinking positive, mind over matter, which I truly believe in because I have willed myself through many races to achieve several goals. Now I am not saying that you can just pick a time and achieve it with no training, but I do believe the mental part is what prevents many runners from achieving their goals. I went to the start of my first half marathon in a long time thinking I was aiming for 1:40, but I ran it in 1:36 which made me realize that the only thing holding me back was the thought that I couldn't run that fast. I don't think that positive thinking will get me to a sub 19 min 5K, but for sure it got me under a 22 min and then a 21 min 5K, so maybe a sub 20 is in the cards someday.

The one thing I am really bad at is even pacing. I usually go out fast hoping to bank some time and then get slower as the race goes on. My review of all my recent 5K times showed that very clearly. Sometimes mile 2 was slowest but usually that is because it was a hilly course at mile 2. Most of the time mile 3 was slowest. So with that in mind I was trying to not do that this time. But it's hard to not want to jump out there to get a head start. So while I ended up kinda doing that again this time, I didn't go crazy and held back a little bit. My first mile felt pretty good, I had to consciously try to slow down because it's easy to run down Person Street at full speed seeing everyone else doing the same thing. Still I ended up doing the first mile in 6:23 which I knew was too fast.

In the second mile, to my defense, there is a bit of an uphill climb. But I slowed down on that one quite a bit, with a 6:41 pace. I was starting to get a cramp or pull in my right hamstring, which is one area that typically doesn't bother me. Knees, calves, inner ankle and quads in long races, but usually not hamstrings. So this slowed me down quite a bit. Still I was determine to keep the pace as best I could. At that time I had my Garmin set, as I usually do, on the average pace for the current mile. So I just kept trying to keep that as far below 7 as possible. I have run quite a few 5Ks where the last mile gets above 7 minute pace, so I was determined to prevent that this time, hamstring pain or not.

During the end of mile two or early in mile 3 I saw a kid, Winston, who I used to see in most of my races in 2009, but hadn't really seen for a while since I didn't do many 5Ks in 2010. He was 12 the last time I saw him, so now he is 14 and much taller and with bit of a deeper voice. Wow I was feeling old when I chatted w. him before the race! Anyway I passed him which I sometimes do, and he sometimes passes me, which I am sure will be more the norm from here forward! He is one of those runners who doesn't always seem to know how fast he is. Mind over matter...perfect example. Well that day I guess he thought "ok, no way am I going to let some 40 yr old woman beat me!", so he passed me again shortly thereafter. I wasn't bothered by that as I was running for time and I was proud of him for taking back his rightful place. I have seen him give up a bit (my perception at least) in some races that he clearly had the speed and stamina for. As for me, I was just trying to run through my hamstring pain to the finish.

The last part of the course gets a bit twisty turny going up and down several streets. I actually like this because running a mile straight back down a long wide Raleigh street is torture for me. I'd rather run around the little streets and then "oh surprise there is the finish" so close that it's not as painful. So this is why I like this course. I am told there is a part where you can see the finish line (big blow up arch in the road) on one of the turns far before you reach it. I guess if I saw that, it would be torture, but I was so oblivious I didn't see it so that was nice for me.

By the time I saw the finish, it was fairly close so I did my best sprint to get this over with. The last mile ended up being 6:50 pace. And the last 0.1 or so was a 5:47 pace because I saw the clock was under 20:49, my "old" PR. My now "new" PR, if you count chip time, which I do, is 20:34, 20:37 gun time. So not quite close enough to the sub 20 I was miraculously hoping for, but enough to earn me a new PR, a first place age group finish, fifth female overall, and 45th of 393 total runners. This race doesn't have an overall masters category, bummer. I would have been first in that category as well. I guess last time I ran it I wasn't 40 so didn't pay attention to that. I ended up with a gift card to TAF, I think it was $20 or something. Last year I got some Run for the Oaks water glasses, which I hardly use, but I have to say I prefer that over the gift cards. Still it was a great day for the race and despite the hamstring issue and feeling undertrained, I PR'd. Go figure. I guess that gives me hope for the sub 20 later in the year since if the hamstring didn't hurt and I went out slower in mile 1, I would probably have done better. And who knows, if I actually followed the planned track workouts and did some tempo runs, that would probably also help!

Beyond the race itself, it was nice to get back out to a local 5K and see so many running friends. Pauline (4th age group) was there and looking hot with her new sleek hairdo, barely looked like she sweated with perfect hair after running a super fast race. John W. ran a sub 20 in his first 5K in like 20 years, wow! And Sarah (3rd age group) and Barry ran together, shaving 5 minutes off of Barry's prior PR. If he keeps that up he'll be passing all of us! I saw lots of other runners I know from the Boston Marathon plane ride, from a few runs at ATT and Umstead, etc. And after the race a few of us grabbed a quick coffee and breakfast (mmmm, chocolate chip scones!) at Morning Times cafe. All in all a great way to start the spring race season! Next race (which I have already completed at the time of this post), Quintiles Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon!

2011 Race Calendar

2011-01-12T19:35:00.014-05:00

So I am totally stealing my friend John's idea and posting my 2011 race calendar. By the way check out John's new blog if you haven't already at (hope the link will work).

http://doubletimeitmarine.blogspot.com/

My race calendar is as follows for 2011. Hope I survive!

Mar 5 - St. Patty's Run Green 8K (I haven't registered yet but the fact that they move it to a Saturday, change the course a bit from the first year from what I've heard and added 2 water stops makes me want to run it again). See my list of "worst races ever" and you'll see that the 2009 race was on there. - UPDATE, decided not to do this one, too much crammed into one weekend!

Mar 12 - Run for the Oaks (I ran this in the freezing rain in 2009 so hoping the weather will be better.) - DONE, great race, PR!

Mar 20 - Quintiles Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon (I work at Q now, but also wanted to visit Wrightsville Beach again and run a flat race. Same day as Tobacco Road so I am sure most of my friends will be at that one.) - DONE, beautiful day and great course, PR!

Apr 2 - Jogging for your Noggin (Tentative, still thinking about this one.) - UPDATE, bailing on this one, again another busy weekend and I'd like to go watch the Umstead 100 instead.

Apr 10 - Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon (I heard they changed the course and it's now starting at RBC so I may try this one. Never ran the prior course but heard it was a challenge.) - UPDATE, likely won't do this one but still on the fence. Since I PR'd in Wrightsville Beach, I though I'd take a break and focus on the 5K for a bit. We'll see.

Apr 17 - Second Empire 5K (My first race ever in NC was this race in 2008.)

May 22 - Inside-Out Sports Half Marathon (Likely won't be a PR but I'll treat it as a long run).

Jul - Great Raleigh Road Race (I haven't seen it posted yet but hoping they'll still have it this year. I really loved this course in 2009.)

Jul 17 - Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon (Yay, I got in through the lottery. Still working on logistics to see if I can go.)

Aug - Friesen Run with the Canes 5K (Tentative, but sounds fun.)

Sep - Magnificent Mile (Always wanted to run this one, hope I'll be ready!)

Oct 15 - Run for Healthier Babies (My current 5K PR, ran it in 2009.)

Nov - Either City of Oaks Half or OBX Half (Tentative)

Nov 24 - Either the Inside Out Sport Turkey Trot or the Grand Strand Turkey Trot, depending on whether we are home in Cary or away in Myrtle Beach.

Dec - Jingle Bell Run (I have run this twice and it's lots of fun.)

Dec 10 - Kiawah Island Half Marathon (Sounds like a good winter mini vacation spot.)

I missed the boat this year on the two other races I'd like to run since they both close very quickly each year. I'll likely shoot for those in 2012. These are the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Vermont in June and the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon in July. I am, however, entered in the lottery for the Napa to Sonoma one, so I'll hear in March if I got in or not. That would be way cool! UPDATE - Got into Napa to Sonoma! Maybe I can to the Covered Bridges next year.

Grand Strand Turkey Trot, November 25, 2010

2010-11-28T18:46:00.005-05:00

I was looking forward to my annual Thanksgiving Day run in Surfside Beach, SC. We go there every Thanksgiving to visit Keith’s parents and every year I consider running the local Turkey Trot but never have since it’s usually cold or raining or no one else wants to go watch or some other excuse. But I always do go for a run either near the beach or around the local neighborhood. So when I was about 1 hour into the 3.5 hour trip and had a sudden realization that I packed everything BUT my running shoes, the quest for a local running shop began. I could have just opted to run barefoot on the beach but was thinking it may be too cold for that and my calves would be really sore after that. Plus I can always use running shoes, as Keith pointed out. So I had the green light to buy some. However the local roads we take have almost no signal so it took forever to search on the iphone for a local running store, only really to discover there wasn’t one or at least one I could find. So we found the mall with the nearest Footlocker and hoped for the best. The biggest store in the Myrtle Beach mall was the Bass Pro Shop, it was huge! So if I wanted hunting or fishing gear I’d be all set, but running shoes were a different story. Not to be a shoe snob but most runners will probably agree that you have your favorite brands and running shops and really prefer those so it’s hard to then go to Foot Locker instead. But it was that or no shoes, so I tried to keep an open mind. Well good thing that there was also a Finish Line in that same mall because Footlocker was truly sad. They only had one pair of Saucony’s which I asked if they could tell me about because I hadn’t heard of them before. The woman told me they were “good, real good” shoes. I was kind of hoping for information on whether they were a cushioned or stability shoe or something beyond “they’re good”. I tried them on anyway as I was desperate and they were not “real good” but felt like the sole was made of one inflexible piece of moulded plastic. I passed on those and asked about some Nike’s but they didn’t have my size so I moved along to the Finish Line. While not much better they did have a few Nike’s and Asics. I asked about the Saucony’s but the girl had no idea what I was referring to and then said “oh you mean Saw coney”. I am fairly sure that I was pronouncing them correctly as I had in the past looked up how to pronounce them on their website. However I was corrected both in Footlocker and Finish Line, clearly the running shoe experts. By that time I just figured I should stick with what I know, so I tried my old favorite Asics Nimbus and then also tried a 2150. The 2150’s were on sale and I ended up getting a coupon from the woman in front of me who was trying to use two coupons for one purchase with no success. So not a bad deal overall.

We got to Keith’s parents house later than planned due to that little detour but went out to a nice dinner at Gordon Bierch, a brew pub in a fairly new and our favorite shopping center in the area, Market Common.

The next morning, Thanksgiving, I got up around 7:30 and got dressed in my running clothes but wasn’t in any particular rush to head out. It was a little after 8am when I was ready to head out the door and then I remembered the email I had received on the Turkey Trot and pulled it up to just see when it started. I assumed it was 8am since most races are that time or earlier but was surprised to see it was at 9am and registration was open until 8:30. It was pretty close by so I decided to go for it once I got in the car. I figured if it was too crowded I could always just head to the beach to run but it was a nice day and Market Common was a nice area and that’s where the race was. It was easy to get to and easy to park. I filled out the registration form and then found out they didn’t take credit cards and I didn’t have enough cash, however Keith left his wallet in the car so I “borrowed” $20 from him and registered for the race. I chose the 8K as that is the traditional Turkey Trot distance for some strange reason and since I would probably have run 5 or more miles anyway if I was going to run at the beach. I knew later that I’d be wishing I’d registered for the 5K, likely right about at the 3 mile mark of the 8K!

I immediately got in the bathroom line because I always need to do that before a race and then went to the car to stretch a bit. I had not of course planned for this race like I usually do, so had no Powerade or Gu or other food for that matter in the car. I had eaten a granola bar before I left the house and had a bottle of water that was now almost empty. It was then that my lower back, which had been sore in the past few days, likely from assembling lots of playroom furniture or from lifting Grace up, was starting to hurt. But it was 20 minutes to start time and with very little water and not much experience taking advil just prior to a race start, I decided to just hope the adrenaline would keep the pain away. I headed for the bathroom line one last time and ran over to the start.

It was quite different than the local Raleigh/Cary races. Not many people trying to get right up on the starting line, which was surprising especially since there were no timing mats at the start. They did have a D-Tag for the shoe but the mats were only at the finish, not the start or at any splits. So I got right up front, knowing that I wanted my time to be the most accurate it could be even though I hadn’t trained for this race at all and in fact only decided to run it less than 1 hour ago. The 5K and 8K started together then would split off and then meet up again, which is never really the best plan as those still running the 5K by the time the 8K meets up with them again are usually the people walking or jogging it really slowly. So the 8K folks have to weave in and out of the 5K people and the 5K people really have to be careful of not getting run into by someone in the 8K trying to achieve a time goal.

The start went well, with there being no problem getting out near the front. Of course there were several men and a few women to jumped right out in front at top speed. I just hoped that most of the women were running in the 5K and not the 8 because I was already going too fast and would never be able to catch up. So I decided that I’d just have to run my own race at my own pace and whatever happened, happened. The first mile went by fast, as it usually does. I ran that way too fast like I usually do in under 6:30 so I knew I’d slow down in mile 2. I ran the second mile much slower, but probably somewhere less than 7:15 pace. I decided that I’d try to keep that average pace for the last 3 miles. It was at the start of mile 3, like right after the 2 mile marker, that I started to wish I chose the 5K instead. There was a water stop at mile 2 which I was glad for. It was quite warm for November, probably in the high 60s by that point. I was pretty warm but not warm enough to just run in my sports bra (not sure I’d ever be warm enough for that!) so I just drank the entire cup of water and hoped the race would be over soon.

It felt like it took forever to get to the halfway point as this part of the race is now split from the 5K and so the group had thinned out a lot. There was one guy about 50 yards in front of me and then a few in the distance beyond that but that was all I could see. There was a turnaround coming up however so I’d soon be able to see how many people, and specifically women, were in front of me. And I’d also be at the 3 mile mark thank goodness. I was feeling tired and thirsty but just tried to keep my legs moving. My new shoes seemed to be fine, which was good because of course you are never supposed to race in new shoes. I just kept thinking how much better I’d probably be doing if I had my Saucony Kinvara’s since they are so much lighter than the Asics I bought. But at least I wasn’t bare foot, I don’t think I could do that! As I approached what was probably 2.75 miles, I started to see the front runners pass by heading back towards the finish. A guy wearing the race number 100 was in first place and had a good lead. I recalled seeing him at the start and he seemed to be one of the few who was interested in standing right on the starting line, so I am assuming he won last year and earned his 100 race number. Then I saw the first woman and she was running pretty fast and effortlessly. Several other men passed and another woman. And then I saw a third woman, who was probably about 100 yards ahead of me. So I was fourth woman overall at that point. I hit the turn around at about 3 miles and then could see who was behind me. There were a few women fairly close but I wasn’t really focused on that as I was quite tired and still thirsty and ready to be done. So I just tried to focus on keeping up the 7:15 pace. I did slow at one point to over 7:30 but quickly willed myself to pick it back up.

I then realized that I was getting closer to the woman ahead of me. She seemed to be slowing slightly and gradually. I felt that if I could just maintain my pace I may pass her but it wasn’t my goal since I wasn’t feeling too energetic. And I thought if I passed her and she decided to fight for her place, I would not be able to win that fight. So I tried to maintain but still hold back a little behind her. As I approached the 4 mile mark, however, the 8K and 5K rejoined and at about that time I passed the woman in the number 3 spot and also a guy running around her same pace. I just kept going, afraid to look back. I kind of had the element of surprise since she really didn’t know if I was in the 8K or 5K as I passed just after the two groups merged. I felt a bit guilty for passing so close to the end though, but all is fair in road racing. I was really struggling by that point, feeling like I really wished I did the 5K, so I just tried to maintain and hoped no one was closing in behind. The last part of the race goes around a nice little lake but I was not really enjoying the scenery by that time, I was just grunting and spitting a lot due to dry mouth by that point. Quite a pretty sight I am sure! I could see the finish on the other side of the small lake. It seemed so far away but I knew I’d be done soon so I tried to pick it up to keep my spot but never looked back. I sprinted to the finish as best I could, finishing in 35:31. I have only run one other 8K that I can recall, the St. Patty’s 8K in Raleigh. Since that was a terribly hilly course and very hot day, this was a PR by far. The pace was similar to a few longer races I’d run recently so for sure if I’d been training I could have done better, but 3^rd place overall and a PR are pretty good!

Of course this meant having to wait around for the awards ceremony. I was not feeling so great but felt much better after forcing down a banana and some water. I decided I probably had time to walk back to where I parked the car so I could get a warmer shirt and call or text Keith to tell him how I did. I had texted him just before the race start to tell him I had decided to run the race. I walked/jogged over to the car and my calves were pretty sore. I decided to drive back over to the finish and some roads were still blocked so I was hoping I wouldn’t get lost and miss the awards. I was able to part close to the finish and went over to check on the results. When I first saw them I was shocked to see that a woman finished first overall and then was a bit disappointed to see that I wasn’t 3^rd overall but really 4^th. I figured I must have counted wrong and just missed that first woman somehow. But as I looked closer I saw her time was 22 minutes, which is a sub 5 min mile so thought uh something isn’t right there. It didn’t take long to figure out that she really had run the 5K and somehow got misassigned. So once they removed her I was back to 3^rd again.

As I went over to the race table to be sure they were aware of the error (they were and were fixing it) another woman, the one I had passed at the 4 mile mark, was also heading over to the table as her time had not been recorded at all. I knew she came in shortly after me so I was ready to confirm that for them if needed. She was assured they would fix it. She wasn’t 40 yet, so she’d get an award for first in her age group. We chatted a bit and I found out she is a Marine stationed in the desert, I assumed Iraq but not sure if she really said that specifically or not. She was visiting her parents who lived about 35 miles away and registered even later than I did, shortly after the 8:30 am cutoff, which was probably why her time didn’t get recorded initially. We chatted a bit about races and running and Thanksgiving plans. It was nice to meet her and I still felt bad about passing her at the end. Then when it came time for the awards, I received mine, a large tile with the race logo painted on it that said 8K 3^rd place overall female. I thought I should stay at least until the age group awards to see her get her award and unfortunately they had not fixed the stats like they promised and skipped over her for the award. She headed back over to the table to try to get it corrected. I felt bad and while I was proud of my award I asked a guy standing near me if he could take my picture with my award because I decided that I’d go over and give her mine. This way I’d still have a photo of my award. I ran over and offered to give her the plaque but she said that it was ok because they were going to order one and have her’s sent to her overseas. So in the end I did get to keep my award and hopefully she’ll receive hers in the mail soon. She headed out for the long drive back to her parents house and I headed back for a shower and a yummy breakfast. It was a great race, and nice to meet the Marine that I met at the race. Later I learned that there was a competing Turkey Trot being held at Surfside Beach at 8:30am, where I usually run when I am down there. It was quite clear from their website that they were previously affiliated with the other Turkey Trot at one time and there was some sort of falling out. Their website was so negative and anti “other Turkey Trot” which turned me off. So it was good that I decided to run the one being held in Market Common instead of running in my usual spot. In the end I finished 14 of 183 overall, 3^rd overall female and 2 of 19 in my age group. While I was quite sore and tired later that day, I was very glad that I ran my first Turkey Trot! Maybe next year the kids will come to run the “Tot Trot” or the 1 mile race.

ATT 10 Miler, October 23, 2010

2010-11-28T18:30:00.007-05:00

What was I thinking, after not running very much since April??? Well, I have to say it’s all Carl Grace’s fault! Sorry Carl but it’s true. I had not really been training for anything since Boston in April, and really I didn’t train all that much for that but really just tried to maintain since NYC in Nov 2009. But a few months before the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) 10 miler Carl emailed a few RTR folks to see if anyone was running the ATT 10 miler. I had wanted to run it at some point since I volunteered at it the year before. So since I hadn’t picked any fall race to motivate me to run, I thought that may be a good one. I heard it filled quickly sometimes so I decided to register early. I think that Carl ended up not coming out from SF for that race but since I was signed up I was committed at that point. I was doing some 10 mile runs on the weekends but as the race got closer I really had cut back on that and also my runs during the week. I was busy with work and other things and wasn’t as focused on running. Then suddenly the race sort of snuck up on me! I thought about drop out and not running it, but decided I could probably run the 10 miles since it was a flat course.

Until the morning of the race I really hadn’t looked much into where the parking was which is unusual for me. I did pick up my race packet the day before at Inside Out Sports in Cary. In the morning I decided to take the risk and try to park in the White Oak Church parking lot which was supposed to have limited parking. I headed out a bit early in hopes that it wouldn’t be full yet since I didn’t want to have to take a shuttle from the parking at Thomas Brooks Park which was a few miles away. I like to have my warm clothes nearby at the finish of a race. I was lucky and got a spot. I then jogged over to the race finish area to pick up my chip and of course use the port a potties a few times. I then asked around about where the start was since I had never run the race before. The women had a separate start from the men, which I thought was cool. It was 10 minutes ahead of the men.

I tried to get near the front of the starting line since awards are often by gun and not chip time. Not that I expected an award but still it’s good to be well positioned just in case! This was my first real local race in the “masters” category. I wasn’t sure what the competition was in that group for this race but knew that another race, the Run for Healthier Babies, was being held in Morrisville that same day. Since that race it part of the Second Empire Series I suspected that many speedy folks would be there. I had run that race and the series last year and it was a great race.

By the time the women started it was getting a bit warmer so I took off my long sleeve shirt and decided to run in shorts and a tshirt. It was a bit brisk but I knew I’d warm up and would rather be a bit cold than too warm for a race. It was also my first race and probably longest distance with my Saucony Kinvaras. I was hoping they’d hold up to the 10 miles and not result in any unusual soreness or injuries. As the women took off, I was positioned pretty far in the front and could see the leader for the first quarter mile or so, which meant I was probably running way too fast! I did the first mile super fast but felt pretty good so didn’t consciously slow it down too much but instead decided to let that happen gradually. Mile 2 also felt pretty good. It was at mile 3 that I wished I was running the other race that day, the Run for Healthier Babies 5K. I was concerned that I was feeling tired so early in the race. However by mile 4 I felt better after a bit of Gatorade. I picked the pace back up a bit in miles 4 and 5 and used a Hammer gel around that point as well, which probably helped. During much of the race I could see but never catch a woman who I had only known from a prior race as the 60 year old woman who kicked my butt. She had run the Tobacco Trail half marathon and was running the same pace as I was for much of that race. I knew she was older but mainly due to her silver/white hair, because her body was way more fit that mine and most other women in the race. But in the last 3 miles she took off and finished ahead of me. I later found out that she was 60 years old. Wow, hope I can do that at 60! And there she was again, this time ahead of me from about mile 1 onward. I knew this time however that she was pretty speedy and I decided I would not focus on her but focus on my time. I could see her for much of the race so wasn’t too far behind but just far enough that she was always out of my reach.

It felt pretty good to reach the turnaround at just over mile 5. I was tired already and had a long way to go, but could see that there weren’t that many women ahead of me and I don’t believe that any men had passed me by that point (remember they started around 10 minutes later). I had passed one or two women leading up to the turn around. Mile 6 wasn’t too terrible but by mile 7 to 8 my calves and feet started to feel crampy, much like the issues I had in both recent marathons that caused me to stop dead in my tracks for a few seconds. I decided that I would try mind over matter and just decide that the cramps would not be that bad or cause me to stop. A few times I thought for sure they would win, but somehow I kept it from fully surfacing and kept plugging along. By mile 8 and 9 that was really what I was doing. I had really slowed down a lot by that point so really was just trying to make it to the finish. Some men passed me during the second half of the race but not a large number. The women were quite spread out by this time and so the now 61 year old woman was ahead of me and no one was close enough behind to worry about. It stayed that way, except for the men catching up, for the rest of the race. The last mile felt like it was a real struggle and up hill which is all relative I guess on the flat ATT. I was very happy to finally see the finish line and tried to give it my all to get to the end before the cramps in my legs/feet stopped me. I was happy to stop and walk and tried to walk off the cramps as I went to the car to get my change of clothes.

I knew my time of 1:12:28 was close to my PR time but wasn’t sure if it was a PR. Turns out it wasn’t, I had run Anna’s Angels, which was a hillier course, faster in 1:11:44. Still, it was a pretty good time, with an average pace of 7:15. I also wasn’t sure what place I came in but was sure I’d placed in the master’s category or at least in my age group. Once the results were posted I found out I was 3^rd masters woman overall which was nice for my first real local race in that category. No medal or trophy to remember the race, only the age group winners got those (I have to admit I would have liked one) but a Wachovia gift card for $50 and an IOS one for $30 was really nice. I got to spend some time with a few RTR folks after the race while waiting for the awards and then headed home to start the rest of the weekend. Not sure what the next race is, I was considering the City of Oaks half but decided after this race that it would need to wait until next year since it was only 2 weeks away and I didn’t feel quite ready for a race of that distance. Guess I better figure out what’s next so I can get motivated to step up the running again! Thanks to Carl for getting me to sign up for this race, I would never have run it if I hadn’t signed up for it so far ahead and then I wouldn’t have placed in my first race in the master’s category!

Boston Marathon, April 19, 2010 - Part 4

2010-05-05T22:01:00.012-04:00

Bill Rodgers Running Center

Faneuil Hall

Well deserved glass of wine at the airport

So the race is over, but just thought I'd write a little on the post-race and beyond. I had a great time in Boston, really enjoyed the expo and the seminars put on by RW magazine. The race was tough, especially the last 1o miles. But it was a great experience. I still think I love NY better but now that the pain has subsided I think I'll have fond memories of Boston as well. I did a little sight seeing my walking from the hotel to the expo both days. Now I know my way around Boston a little to know what I'd like to see when I visit next time, likely not for the marathon!

After finishing the race and finding Tom's running group, we waited for a while trying to find Brandi. I won't write too much about that since I am not sure she'd want me to but long story short her stomach was feeling a bit upset after the race so she walked back to the hotel. But since neither she nor I had cell phones I didn't know and waited for her and even checked the medical tent just in case. Daren was great at getting us in there and getting some answers. :-) Once we knew Brandi wasn't there we parted ways figuring she had left already. Tom's running group went to get a cab back to their hotel and I thought about taking a cab to mine but then recalled I had no money! But it was only just under 2 miles and the weather was fine and walking is good after a race so once I got my bearings (had to ask a race volunteer and then a Boston cop) I headed back on foot. I was really tired so was very glad to get back. I called Brandi and found that she was at the hotel safe and sound. I then took a quick shower, called my husband, and headed to find food. I was so hungry and tired that I just went to the pub across the street and sat outside since it was pretty crowded inside. I had a yummy sandwich and a beer and then hobbled back to the hotel. I was able to nap on and off but wasn't up for going out again for dinner so just stayed in.

The next day I felt sore but walking around did help. Brandi and I had breakfast at Au Bon Pain and headed over to Faneuil hall. We visited the Bill Rodgers Running Center and I had some really good NY style thin crust pizza (or maybe in Boston they think it's Boston style). We didn't have time for more sightseeing (duck boats, museums, shopping in other parts of town) but that was ok, I was ready to come home after a great weekend. We headed for the airport and parted ways there since we were on different flights. At the airport I finally got a chance to sit and have a nice glass of wine with lunch. Life is good!

I met several Raleigh area runners again on the way back and it was nice to chat with them while waiting at the airport. I think most everyone had similar things to say about the down hills and that Heartbreak wasn't as bad as they thought but the last 10 miles overall were pretty tough. While most did not PR, I think everyone was glad to have had the experience whether it was their first Boston or not.

I can't say that this will be for sure my last Boston, but it likely will for a while. I don't see a big need now to do it again but perhaps I'll feel different someday. I also can't say it will be my last marathon but again not sure when I'll do another one. For me it's not just the challenge of running marathon but the experience of the race itself. I have only done 3 of them and each one I did for a reason beyond just running. Marine Corp had a great historical setting in DC, lots of monuments to see and I had heard the Marines and crowds were really supportive so it was a great choice for a first marathon. I have to agree, it was. And I was able to visit my friend Kim from college who lived there. For NYC, well that is such a great race and city and near my hometown in NJ so I've always wanted to run it. It has a great history and runs through so many diverse neighborhoods in the 5 boroughs. What could top a start on the Verrazano Narrows bridge! For Bart Yasso, who has done many races, it's the Comrades Marathon that is his life goal, which he's running this year. For me, NYC was like my Comrades. It was the race that I had entered and had to postpone doing in 2000 and then had to withdraw from in 2001 due to work priorities. and was too busy for after that with work, house, kids, relocating, etc. So I always wanted to go back to do it, which I did, and did well. And finally Boston, while I had not really dreamed of it personally for a long time, I had certainly thought more about it over the last year and knew it was a race many of my friends were aiming for. I was proud to be part such a well respected race with such a long history.

So what's next? Well I'd like to focus on speeding up in my shorter races. I won't be doing one every weekend but will probably pick a few that I'd like to do this year. So far I would like to go back and do the Great Raleigh Road Race (GRRR), which is on July 4th, provided it's being held this year. After that, not sure yet. I have thought about when or if I'd do another marathon, even though I had said I was done with that after Boston. For the next one if I do one, I think it would have to be one associated with a trip someplace nice or a close by one that is a fast course so I could aim to PR. Not sure I'd like to run one that is any farther of a flight than a few hours though and if I do, that won't be soon since our vacation plans for this year are already set. I am considering Richmond since it's close by, I've heard it's fast and we have family there. Not sure if this year would be an option for that though so that's likely something for next year. Chicago someday may be something I'd do since it's supposed to also be fast and I've really not been there except for business so didn't see any of the city. But that would require more advanced planning since it fills fast I believe.

So right now I am trying to continue running a few times a week in the mornings before work and then once every week or two in the evening w. RTR if I can, in addition to long runs on Sunday. I discovered in my panic to get miles in during the week that getting up early while a bit painful is actually not so bad and feels much better than not running at all that day. I am recording the miles I run with my Garmin still but I have no specific training plan yet beyond Boston. I guess I better get on that soon if I want to run a faster time at the GRRR though. Right now the next big race is (or actually "was" since I'd already run it by the time I wrote this) the 1 mile fun run at the Second Empire race. I ran the 50 yd dash with Grace and the 1 mile with Owen and it was awesome. That will be the next blog post!

Second Empire 1 Mi Fun Run and 50 Yd Dash, May 2, 2010

2010-05-05T00:35:00.014-04:00

Grace and Mommy in the 50 Yard Dash

Grace getting her medal

Owen "coming in first" ahead of Mommy

Owen and Mommy getting our medals

Although my blogs to date have been about races I have run, I have been wanting to write one about this particular race from back in May, even though I didn't "race" it. It was probably one of the best races I have participated in and the reason is because I got to run with Owen and Grace. Owen decided he really wanted to run a race, probably just for the medal but hey, he was excited so why not! But no 50 or 100 yard dash would do this time. Instead he decided he was ready for the 1 mile because he had been running almost enough laps around the track at his school to equal a mile.

We did one practice run at the track before the race and Owen ran the 8 laps to make one mile, so I knew he was ready. He stopped and walked here and there and had a lot of water breaks, but he was smiling at the end so that was good. Grace also came along but she was easily distracted by the "flowers" in the field nearby (aka weeds) so she decided to stop and pick some.

We registered them both for the Second Empire race, Owen for the 1 mile fun run and Grace for the 50 yard dash. Owen and I went to pick up the race packet a few days before so we'd have our t-shirts for the race. His was a bit big but it was a pretty cool tech shirt that matched mine.

On the day of the race, which was in the afternoon in downtown Raleigh, it was pretty warm out. One benefit to the race location is that it's around the corner from The Flying Saucer, a bar with lots of great beer options and good food. So Keith was convinced to come to spectate. :-) We arrived as the first group of 5K runners were finishing and I saw a few running friends finish the race. Everyone looked very hot and sweaty and I was kind of glad to be running the 1 mile instead.

Grace's race was up first. The year before, in the same race, she turned around and cried at the start so I had to carry her the 50 yards to get her medal. I was hoping this year would be better. We didn't know this in advance, but thank goodness her friend and classmate Elizabeth and her mom were running too. This distracted Grace for a bit and she was all smiles at the start. We held hands as we raced to the finish. Grace was very proud of her medal and happy that she and her friend ran the race together. I was happy she ran with no tears and no carrying!

Next it was Owen's turn. Lots of adults, even those without kids, were lined up at the start. But there were also a lot of kids Owen's age as well. He was very excited but a bit nervous. But once the gun went off, he took off at full speed. He continued that much of the race, running at super sonic speed and then walking in between. A good speed workout I guess but not how I'd usually advise running a mile race. He didn't really seem to want mom's advice so we just kept running along according to his training plan.

I think Owen thought it was pretty cool to be running down the middle of a street all alone and not having to hold anyone's hand. He kept trying to pick off other runners and was not extremely modest about doing it. Of course then he'd stop and walk and they'd usually pass us again. It was really great to reach the half way mark and turn around toward the finish. Owen had a few times that he wanted to give up, but he kept plugging along and we'd agree to run to a particular light post or sign and then walk a bit. Soon he could see the giant inflatable arch finish line. Once he could see it there was no stopping him. He picked up his speed and took fewer breaks and of course passed mom to win the race. He clarified, after bragging about coming in first, that he really just meant he came in first in front of me. :-)

Owen was quite proud of his medal and I even got a medal too. It was a really great first race to run post-Boston Marathon. Afterwards we had some beer (well not Owen and Grace) and snacks at The Flying Saucer. And on the way home, Owen fell fast asleep from his big race.

We haven't signed up for any other races yet, but I hope that Owen and Grace will want to keep running. It was great fun and I was very proud of them!

Boston Marathon, April 19, 2010 - Part 3

2010-05-05T00:14:00.041-04:00

Map and elevation from my Garmin

Somewhere on the course, looking in pain, maybe on Boyleston?

Crossing the finish line!

Big cheesy grin showing how glad I was to be DONE!

I got up around 5am to get ready for the race, which started at 10am. I am not sure why but I still was really not able to grasp the idea that today I would be running a marathon. Denial! I ate my oatmeal and bananas and rechecked the bag I packed. This was the first time I would be checking a bag so I could change after the race since I heard that you could drop your bag off pretty late and since I didn't have anyone to meet me there to bring my stuff. Here is a tip however when doing this...remember to pack some cash in there because you can't get a cab back to the hotel w. out that. But more on that later...

I met Brandi in the lobby at 6:10am and we walked over to Boston Common to the start (with my handy hand-drawn map since there was no way I was bring my iphone to carry or check). We got there with no problem and I took the first option to use the port a potty there and then we lined up for the bus. I think we probably did some line cutting but to be fair the lines were crazy unorganized from the standpoint that some were short and then there was one long one that seemed to feed into some but not all of the short ones. So there was no way we were getting on that one. We got on a bus pretty quickly and were off to Hopkinton. I am not sure how long it actually took but I heard on the bus that it was going to be 40 minutes or so, so I ended up needing to move seats because I was sitting right on the wheel well and my knees were in my chest. I figured that while it seemed like a good stretch to do, doing it for 40 min was likely not a good idea before a marathon.

I sat next to a woman from NYC who had run something like 20 marathons but she was younger than me so that was impressive. Of course no kids yet. She had run Boston a few times so we talked about NY vs Boston and some other races. Once we got to the start village Brandi and I found a good spot and did the ritual stretching, applying body glide and aspercreme (can't believe with that around bengay is still in use...very old school), eating a second breakfast, and several port a potty stops. Before long, they were calling us to the start, so it wasn't too bad of a wait, about the same as NY. We commented though that since it was at the Hopkinton Middle (?) School and we rode school buses it felt just like a big cross country meet instead of a big marathon. The start village for sure had more of a small town feel rather than a big city race. It was a nice contrast to NY, not better or worse just a nice difference.

We headed to the buses to drop off our bags and then proceeded to the start about 3/4 mi away. And of course I needed to use the port a potty again. Turns out that they had them near the start thank goodness but not actually in the corrals. So the lines were pretty long and they were policing those trying to just go outside of the potties. I got in line and was still freaking out when it was less than 10 min to start and I still was in line. But some other folks who were more relaxed about it said not to worry, yeah right! I got in and out and ditched my throw away clothes since it was fairly warm out (above 50 I would guess). I kept a very light ls shirt and my gloves. I sprinted to the corral only to find a log jam. No one moving in, a huge group standing outside it. Very concerning based on my NYC experience where once the corrals were closed, too bad, you had to wait until the next wave. Boston it turns out is less formal. And I didn't realized until the start that it would take 10 min to get to the start line anyway so I really was ok even standing outside the corral. But being the person I am and since I didn't know that, I did manage to convince people to move in a bit and got in.

The start was much less exciting than NYC I have to say. In NYC you are moved up close enough to hear the cannons signal the start right after Mayor Bloomberg and Mary Wittenberg (NYRRC president) and some professional runners said a few words. As Frank Sinatra belts out New York New York you can't help but feel goose bumps and almost ready to cry that you are there. Boston, not really so much. I didn't really even hear the start but saw the crowd moving far in the distance after a few minutes. Since in Boston you need to qualify the field is pretty fast so I was in corral 11 of the first wave, which only went up to corral 13. After about 10 minutes of mainly walking, I finally reached the start and started to feel excited.

The crowds were there for sure, along the entire course, just like NYC. But as I ran I noticed it was a much more homogenious crowd than NYC. In NY you knew when you entered the different neighborhoods and boroughs. In this race, unless you were really looking for landmarks for each of the 8 towns the race goes through you'd likely miss a few. Not to say the crowd was not great and supportive, because they were. I also noticed fewer runners from over seas, fewer different languages being spoken at the start and fewer crazy costumed runners than in NY. The only one I recall seeing that made my day was a tall lanky bald man with a British accent, who was dressed all in pink complete with fairy wings, tutu, wand and pink running shoes. I don't know where he finished but it was certainly funny to see. A woman wearing a running skirt with a t-shirt that said "You've just been passed by a skirt" was running near him and he sprinted past her for a bit and said "ha, now YOU'VE just been passed by a skirt". Quite entertaining for a mile or so. :-)

The start is always billed as being one long down hill that you will fly through if you don't watch out. I noticed that I was feeling ok and keeping my normal marathon pace (which is only based on one marathon, NY) but I didn't feel I could easily go faster than that or that I was sailing along. I did maintain that pace, of just under 8 minutes, for the first half of the race and really not too much more than 8 min pace until I hit the hills in Newton. I was well aware of the dreaded hills of Newton, which peaked at Heartbreak Hill. I feared them of course but I did not think I'd fare any better on them by running a deliberately slower pace. I kept telling myself and others that I'd go slower in this marathon since I didn't have anything to prove and since I had not been training as much. However, really, who was I kidding? If I didn't feel bad, I wasn't going to go slower on purpose.

I have to say I didn't spend time looking at the sites as much as in NY. I also didn't do too much "high fiving" of kids because I was trying to focus on keeping the pace I was comfortable with. I knew that the race started in Hopkinton and passed through Ashland and then onto Framingham. I did see a few landmarks I recalled reading about such as the Framingham train station. I've never seen a big race where you have to be careful not to trip over train tracks in several places as well as be careful not to run into a few medians that divide the road. They did have some poor teenage volunteers (or more likely they were college students but just looked younger to me!) standing on the medians in bright clothes making lots of noise. Which to me says that often runners do run into the medians. I can see how it could happen and in fact I bet I'd have been one of them if I was running in the middle of the road but I was actually running closer to the right site most of the race.

I also recall passing over a bridge with a nice lake around 9 or 10 miles and I know I read about that but didn't recall the name of the lake, which I have now looked up and it's Lake Cochituate. I recall there was a hill after this that felt pretty long. I think that this part was through Natick but I don't recall a lot else. I knew at that point that the half way point, just on the other site of Wellesley, was coming up. I had heard of the Wellesley "scream tunnel" and had heard that you could hear it from far away. I think I probably did hear it faintly before I saw the girls lined up along the right side of the road. I guess that this part of the race is more exciting to the men running than to me, but still it did mark the nearly half way point, which to me was more exciting. The high pitched screaming was actually a bit distracting and I didn't even see any of the guys kiss any girls but heard later that some I knew did. I did not do any kissing because I was assuming that I was probably not what most of the Wellesley girls were hoping for.

After Wellesley College you enter the town of Wellesley which seemed very nice. It reminded me of some of the neighborhoods in the NY race for some reason. There were again lots of spectators on both sides of the road again but a bit less distracting than the girls were. I still tried to maintain the pace and keep saying my mantra which is "run the mile you're in". That worked pretty well but I was curious about those Newton hills and would soon find out what all the fuss was about. Well actually it's the first down hill that really got me, not Heartbreak as you'd expect. My right calf, which was the one that cramped around 23 miles in the NYC race, was bothering me from early in the race. Which is strange because it really hadn't been an issue in training. Just a race related injury that seems to surface in marathons I guess. Weird. Anyway, after the first big down hill between mile 15 and 16, my quads also joined the club and were really bothering me. So I knew that quads and calf would be in a race to see which one would be the bigger problem later.

I started what I though was the first of 3 hills in Newton and just kept going up and steep down and up and down, some were longer than others but in the end I counted more than 3! When I look at the Garmin, it looks like at least 4 to me between mile 16 and 21 which is Heartbreak Hill. My quads were pretty torn up and the calf wasn't much better but I was expecting Heartbreak Hill to have a big sign or something but all I saw was a woman holding a sign that said what I think was that we had made it over the hill. I read somewhere that not everyone notices that they have even finished Heartbreak because there is no big sign. Well I wouldn't say that I was that oblivious since I knew about where in the race it was and figured this long climbing hill was it. It wasn't too bad considering the reputation but again right after it is the down hill again which was painful. It was my slowest mile of the race, at 8:40, but that's probably to be expected.

It was at this point that I really couldn't stick to thinking about the mile I was running, even though I tried. Again the rest of this part of the race reminded me a bit of parts of the NYC race, in particular as we headed into Brookline. I was not really sightseeing at this point though since the quad and calf issues continued. I found it kind of amusing that my big issues had been my knees for the last few weeks prior to the race and yet despite a bit of soreness early on, they were now fine. In fact everything else was too. I wasn't tired, wasn't having any trouble breathing, etc. The quad and calf were the only thing slowing me down. I stayed around an average of 8:30 pace at this point for the rest of the race. I simply could not go any faster and every mile felt longer. I felt some relief when I got to mile 23 since that was where I had major calf issues in NYC enough to make me stop for a few seconds to rub it. Still I knew it could give out at any time. I also recall some small but painful hills in these last few miles. Nothing like in Newton but ever mole hill seemed a mountain by this point. I had been expecting flat or down hill from Heartbreak onward but that was not really the case. Still somewhere around here I saw someone holding a sign that was pretty motivation that said "find your happpy place". So I tried to do that to get through these last few miles.

Between mile 24 and 25 I also experienced some foot cramping which I just basically "willed away" by saying "nope, that is not happening" and it seemed to work! I knew a bad foot cramp could really be a problem but I just kept going. I know that the big Citgo sign in the distance is a signal that you are nearing the end of the race but since you can see it from pretty far away you aren't quite as close as you think. Still it was a welcome sign. But still bearing right from Beacon onto Commonwealth at the sign feels pretty good. This means that there is just one mile to go and for some reason I always think about this as just 4 laps around the track, hey I can do that right?!

I knew my time would not be under 3:30 at that point but I was ok w that. It would have been nice but I was not really aiming for that time and really knew I couldn't have run faster anyway in those last few miles. I wasn't at Boston to BQ, and I was really pretty happy to be under 3:40, so the possibility of 3:35, which I didn't really start to calculate until about mile 25 or later, was pretty good to me. I knew the famous (well I guess it's famous if there is a t-shirt at the expo that says it) right on Hereford, left on Boyleston was coming soon, though not soon enough for my pained legs. As I turned right on Hereford my foot cramp tried to come back but again I willed it away. But when I turned left onto Boyleston, and I could see the finishline in the distance, a lot farther in the distance than I had hoped, the calf muscle finally hit it's breaking point. Just as in NYC, I was stopped dead in my tracks by it. I am not sure if I was imagining it or not but I thought I heard a few moans or roars from the crowd sort of indicating that I couldn't stop now. I had actually run the entire way, and never stopped or walked once, not even through water stops, so if I was stopping it was bad. I regrouped and looked at the finish line and just started to run despite the major pain and figured I could stop at the finish and sit or whatever I needed to do but once I looked at my watch and it was 3:33 (and I couldn't see the seconds) I was motivated to sprint to get in under 3:35.

As I crossed the finish line I felt a great relief. I checked my watch and determined I had just made it under 3:35 with a time of 3:34:56. I was pretty proud of that. I also saw another Raleigh area man who I had seen at the airport on the way to Boston. He finished right in front of me. I had passed him in the last half mile but then when I had the calf cramp he passed me in the end. We chatted for a few minutes and he said that the City of Oaks marathon in Raleigh was actually about the same or harder than Boston, so that certainly didn't encourage me to really ever want to run that one! Going through the post race chute area, I was definitely wiped out and thought I may need to sit down at one point but never did. I was thirsty and hungry so gladly took the strawberry kiwi protein drink and some cookies but really wished I also had ice for my calf and quads. I know they had it somewhere because I saw people with it but somehow I'd missed it. I got my medal and heat sheet and posed for a post race picture. The volunteer nearby said I looked like I was determined to get that picture because it was the last time I'd run this race and I agreed that she was probably right, at least for now. My stats for the 2010 Boston Marathon were 3:34:56, 8538 overall of 22629 finishers, 1898 of 9524 women finishers, 287 of 1685 women in my age group (40 to 44, first race in the "masters" group).

I wandered to find my bus with my bag of clothes and found Daren who had finished within a few minutes of me. We changed and went to meet the rest of his running group. It was a great race and trip and my only regret, which isn't a biggie, is I wish I'd bought that "Wicked Fast Runnah" shirt at the expo. ;-)

More on the post race and beyond in part 4...

Boston Marathon, April 19, 2010 - Part 2

2010-05-04T23:48:00.020-04:00

Amby Burfoot reading from his new book "Going Long"

At the 26.2 mile mark (at the expo)

Cheers bar

Cool but dangerous looking ceiling in the ladies room at Bin 26 on Charles Street

Not so nice side of Boston in Little Italy (Go Yankees!)

Sunday began with sleeping/lounging a bit which I never do. I played around on the iPhone and was really in no hurry to rush out to do anything. I thought about a quick run but then realized that another Runner's World seminar was starting around 10am or so and I had little time to get there so I didn't have time and if I ran there I couldn't bring my purse and copy of RW magazine which I hoped to get signed by some RW staffers. So I rushed to get ready and for some reason decided to walk again (taxi would probably have been a lot faster), this time a better route through Boston Common. I stopped for a quick (which actually took too long) bite and coffee on the way and then ended up needing to literally sprint in my jeans with my purse to the expo center to make the seminar in time.

Bart Yasso was just finishing introducing the RW staffers who were going to discuss "How to Run Your Best Boston" as I arrived. It was a good seminar with each editor sharing their Boston experiences. Mark Remy had the funniest list of "how to run your worst Boston", so it really was a fun session. I decided in the end to stay for the next session with Amby Burfoot and David Willey and another RW writer who each read excerpts from their new book "Going Long". It was also a great session and I am sure I'll buy the book soon but have not yet. I got to talk with David and Amby after the session and they even signed by RW magazine, which was very nice of them. Definitely a great day for a runner thus far!

I headed back to the expo to check out some things I had missed the day before. I am sure I didn't even get to see everything, it was huge. In the end I decided to head back to the hotel and to stop and get my pre-race stuff on the way. First I had lunch (pasta and a splash of wine) at Bin 26 (I think it was 26?) on Charles Street. Then I picked up the race staples (bananas, gatorade, water, etc) and the DeLuca Market across the street. Finally a trip to CVS to get a few unmentionables (um we can say that some antibiotics have a bad effect and leave it at that). Then back to the hotel for a very short nap before dinner.

I met up w. Brandi from RTR to walk over to meet Tom and friends for an early carb loading dinner in Little Italy. On the way we saw a lovely display of Boston Red Sox pride, a Yankees Suck t-shirt so I had to snap a picture even though I am a Yankee fan. Dinner at Lucia's was nice. We met a few others from Tom's running group. We headed back from dinner fairly early to turn in early. On the way Brandi decided she needed some sweat pants and some very persuasive local shop owners convinced her that their fine high quality sweat pants that said "Italia" down one leg were just want she needed, for a bargain at $40. I fear that if she did not purchase them we would have been followed back to the hotel and perhaps fitted with cement running shoes, but that's a story for another blog. ;-)

I think I organized and reorganized my running stuff many times but actually slept better than I usually do the night before a race. In fact I had no race related dreams at all which is probably a first. Just goes to show how much in denial I was about this whole marathon thing actually happening on my lovely vacation to Boston!

Continued in part 3...

Boston Marathon, April 19, 2010 - Part 1

2010-04-25T22:14:00.039-04:00

At the finish line on Saturday, Apr 17, in case I didn't make it back there on Monday!

Meeting Bill Rodgers after a 2 hr wait

Bill signed my race bib

Bart Yasso tells stories from

his book "My Life on the Run"

Boston is the "holy grail" of distance running it seems. A short year or so ago I am not really even sure I was aware of how many long distance runners had Boston as their ultimate goal. Not sure why I was not really aware of that but for some reason I don't think I really was. Yet after setting a goal in early 2009 of running a marathon by the end of that year and then joining a running group where other runners had similar goals I guess it was only natural that I'd have to look beyond that goal and set out to achieve the next one, which was not just to finish that next marathon in under 4 hrs but then to actually qualify for Boston.

2009 was a great year for running for me, setting a lot of PRs and winning a lot of age group awards in local races. I never thought it was possible and yet not only had I achieved all those things but also managed to qualify for Boston while running the NYC Marathon. I have to say I was not sure that anything could really ever measure up to actually running and doing well in NYC. The sheer fact of qualifying was really enough and to qualify in NYC, the race I'd really always wanted to run was just the best feeling. So it would really be untrue to say "wow, going to Boston was my big dream" because really NYC was that for me.

But how many chances do you get to run Boston? I'd guess not so many so I was determined to run it this year since I qualified and also registered just in time before it closed in record time (Nov 13th, I registered Nov 2nd, the day after NYC while still in bed in the hotel room!). Shortly after arriving back home I had booked a flight and hotel for Boston as well. Gee, now all I had to do was maintain my training through the coldest winter in a long time!

I have to say I did ok through January despite very cold temps (my hair actually froze under my hat once, as did my gatorade a few times) but when Feb rolled around, work and family commitments took priority and training fell behind. I toyed with the idea of postponing until next year. However in the end I decided that likely next year would not be any better than the present. When the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon was cancelled due to snow of all things, I was somewhat relieved but quickly that turned into concern as I felt still quite under prepared. I ran the Tobacco Road Half in late March and did quite well considering the lack of training. Still I recall finishing that and thinking OMG, how in the world was I going to do that times 2 in less than one month's time?! But it was when I had my last 20 mile run the week after that (I had only done a few this time and no 22 milers) which went terrible that I began to panic. I had not been running enough during the week and it showed. So I started to try to run a few times a week in the mornings before work to try to make up for this.

It was pretty late in the game for that (3 weeks to go) and while I am not sure it really helped much physically, mentally it made me feel a bit better to put some miles in aside from the long run. Yet these were quite slow and painful miles. Literally I could never get below 8:30 pace for 4 to 5 mile runs in the morning, no matter how hard I tried. And my knees would start to hurt at 2 miles and sometimes so badly I needed to stop for a few seconds several times during the run. This was not common for me so I wondered how I was going to pull Boston off. But as time went on and I didn't defer my entry, I was too far committed to do anything else but go and run.

A few weeks prior to Boston, Tom, a friend who was also running the race, emailed some ideas on things to do in Boston and some plans his running group had. As a project manager and natural planner, it was amazing that I didn't have any plans made and up until then was just going to "wing it" but I literally had no time to plan during those last few months. So when the opportunity came to join Tom and his friends for some events I was so glad to do that and not have to plan or think about it. It was so nice for a change for someone else to do that, so thanks to Tom and friends for that!

As Boston got closer, I did begin to feel more excited about it, but perhaps that was just the idea of having a few days away from work! I did kind of block out the whole marathon part of the trip. I was going to miss my family since they were not going, but on the other hand they would likely have been very bored with the things I wanted to do (running expo, seminars, etc). Before I knew it, it was Friday, April 16th and I was packing for my trip to leave early Saturday AM.

I got up really early and headed out, wondering what was in store. Would I have fun, would I finish, would I feel ok after the race, would it be as good as NYC, etc? At the airport it was quite obvious who the Boston Marathon attendees were. I talked briefly to a few folks but mainly just sat and observed who was there. I recognized some faces from local races but didn't really know anyone well enough to start a conversation. On the plane, however, I did chat a bit with a man who was heading there with his family to run his first Boston marathon. He had also run the Fall Second Empire series as I had so we discussed that a bit as well.

The flight went well and I was able to get to the hotel pretty quickly, check in early, and unpack. Although I was tired I got over that fast, same as in NYC, and was excited to head directly to the race expo to get my number, shirt and buy some Boston Marathon stuff. I figured out on my iPhone that the hotel was less than 2 miles from the expo so I decided to walk even though it was chilly and starting to rain. I dressed as warm as I could and headed out. I had been feeling like I was getting a bit sick a few days before leaving so had gotten some antibiotics just in case, since I had some fluid in my ear that could possibly turn into an ear infection. I also discovered Afrin nasal spray, recommended by the urgent care doc, which is amazing but because several MD friends have since warned me not to get hooked on it, I have stayed away from it since Boston. Still, can't believe how well it works! Ok so enough about Afrin. While I wanted to rest and not really run on Saturday I figured a walk would be ok as long as I dressed warm, so off I headed to the expo.

It was, in the end, a good idea to walk since it helped me to get to know the area better. I passed the finish line area and took some pictures (in case I didn't ever make it there on Monday!) and then found my way to the expo where I got my race bib and t-shirt. I headed into the expo which was quite crowded but I knew to expect that after being in NYC. It was literally hard to move through the crowd but I was focused on buying a few key Boston items. I felt, while it was quite bright, I had to have the official Boston jacket for that year. I also found one that was black with a silver logo on it and debated on whether to get both or just one. In the end I convinced myself I only really had one running jacket so could really use a few more, so I got both. Since the race shirt we got as a part of the entry fee was long sleeve, I found a short sleeve one that I liked and got that. And finally I couldn't resist the teddy bears with the Boston t-shirts and in fact got 3 of them (one for each kiddling and one for me!). The line was crazy long but moved incredibly fast. On the line I also got a free poster which was pretty cool. Later I found out that the fine print background of this poster actually had the names of ALL of the entrants of the race on it. Wow, the print was very light and tiny, but I did eventually find my name on there.

After exiting the Adidas store section of the expo I wandered around a while to a variety of booths, only to find I went in a small circle and saw a t-shirt I had forgotten I wanted to buy ever since I saw it in a catalog for the marathon. It was a green cotton tee with the Boston logo and some shamrocks across the front. So I did the dreaded thing of getting BACK into the long line which again went fast.

After this I noticed a line of people that were just hanging out and not moving so I asked what the line was for and the guy at the end said it was to get Bill Rodgers autograph. That sounded great to me so I got in line. Little did I know that while the line seems pretty short, Bill Rodgers is quite a friendly guy and likes to talk a lot to each person. Great if you are that person but perhaps not so much if you are at the end of the line. Still I didn't really have any agenda or plans so I stayed put. After about 2 hours I finally got to the front. It was so great to meet Bill Rodgers and to chat for a bit. He really seemed to want to know about each runner that waited in line for him. We talked about NYC and he told me that NYC was much harder than Boston, which I wanted to believe but was somehow still skeptical. Bill signed my poster and also my race bib and I had a few pics taken with my iPhone. It was pretty cool! As I am writing this I just remembered I also have the business card of a woman from Australia that I met while on the line to see Bill and I have yet to email her so I need to do that tomorrow. She also took some pictures of me with Bill.

By this time I had not had lunch but realized that the Runner's World seminar that Bart Yasso was giving was about to start. Right around this time Tom and his friend Darren also tracked me down so we all headed to Bart's seminar. He talked about his book, My Life on the Run. I had bought the book at the expo in NYC and he had signed it, but even though I had read the book the seminar was still very entertaining. His story about his Badwater experience was hilarious. I was so glad I went. After that I was torn between attending the next session on Chi/barefoot running OR going a few stops on the T to Brookline to the Publick House pub. It was a tough decision but in the end I chose the pub. Darren stayed for the seminar and Tom and I met up with his running group friends Dan and Robert and headed to the pub.

The train ride was good as was the pub. We tried several beers and appetizers and timed it perfectly to get back for dinner at the Atlantic Fish Company. Dinner was also very nice. Robert, Dan and Darren were fun to hang out with. Tom got to meet up with his cousin who was also running the race so that was pretty cool. After dinner I turned in to get some rest with no real firm plans for the next day. That is really unsual but I decided that keeping my options open and not committing to anything may be good for a change!

To be continued in part II...

Tobacco Road Half Marathon, March 21, 2010

2010-04-25T20:52:00.023-04:00

I am very late in writing this report on the Tobacco Road Half. My excuse is it's been a very busy 2010 so far! The Tobacco Road Half was actually my first race of 2010 and last race in the "under 40" age group. I was supposed to run another race in 2010 before this one, the Myrtle Beach Half. But as luck would have it, that race was snowed out. I did manage to get out there and run about 8 miles on the morning of the cancelled race and even attended the after party where I picked up my not so well deserved medal. All in all it was still a fun weekend despite the race not happening. I was very impressed by just how many runners didn't let a little thing like the race being cancelled stop them from having fun. There was a great sense of camaraderie out there that morning, I only wish I had run the entire half marathon course because I felt like a slacker when I heard that some ran the entire full marathon course anyway.

Ok, but back to the Tobacco Road Half....

I had been training for that race by running part of the course a few times. Still I was nervous since I hadn't been putting in the miles overall and also hadn't run a race since Dec 2009. But I was excited to run a new local race like this one, especially with so many other RTR and other running friends also doing it. The kids and Keith were away for that weekend. Though the race wasn't very far away, I got up extra early so I could carpool from Tracy's house near Thomas Brooks Park, where the race starts and ends. We packed two cars full with five people in each (a tight fit in the Jeep Wrangler for sure!) and made our way to the park. It was quite crowded and the port a potty lines were very long, so long in fact that I knew I'd never make it to the front in time. So I used what little woods and remaining cover of early AM darkness to my advantage and then ran over to the starting line to get a good spot.

I decided to start near the front by the 1:40 pace group. That was the fastest one for the half and while I figured I wouldn't run with them, since I always prefer to do my own thing, I figured it would be a good place to line up. Alexis started where I did but everyone else must have lined up farther back. The mayor of Cary announced the race start and we were off running pretty quickly. I started at a pretty fast but comfortable pace. About 1 mile or so in, a crazy guy who lives on the the road the race runs along, who clearly had somewhere important to be, sped out of his driveway directly in front of the pack of runners just in front of me. He's lucky he didn't hit anyone and he didn't get a warm reception for pulling that crazy stunt. But it certainly got the adrenaline going early on!

This first leg of the race is just under 3 miles and consists of rolling hills until you get to the Tobacco Trail. This is where the half and full marathons split and the half goes right and full goes left. I was pleasantly surprised to be cheered on by a friend from RTR, Randy, at this point. It was so nice to see some familiar faces at this race. You can't get that when you are far from home. I started to feel tired and a bit intimidated the minute we hit the trail. It's just strange to race there for me. I could only see a few runners ahead of me and heard the crunching of the fine gravel/dirt trail with every step. Very different than a road race for sure.

By mile 6 or so, I ended up running next to an older gentleman who was keeping the pace pretty well. He seemed to be really enjoying the day and chatting with folks here and there. After getting to about mile 7, the front runners started to head towards us and they were staying to the right instead of following the signs that said to stay left. It was at that point that I knew the older gentleman running near me was actually one of the race founders since he began immediately to redirect the runners and volunteers (sometimes very passionately!). He even ran back to ensure things were all fixed. I commended him later on his leadership skills as I passed him going the other direction after I hit the turnaround at mile 8. Even with doubling back I later found out he didn't finish very far behind me! Also later found out he'd run Boston several times.

I was very happy to hit mile 8 and turn around but quickly realized that as cool as it was to know a lot of people in the race it was also a bit distracting to be running in the opposite direction of them and saying hi while you are starting to get tired. By mile 9 I had had enough of the trail part of the course and was looking forward to a change in scenery. Plus by that time the crowd heading North on the trail was very large and there was too little space for those now heading South. I felt I was nearly being run off the road a few times. I kept saying to myself that all would improve at mile 10 when we'd make the left (thus the need to keep left and not right) onto the road again. It was nice to see some RTR friends manning the aid stations along the way. Dan was at mile 6 and 10 and Brandy, Kristine and Heiko were at the "unofficial" aid station which I did not partake of since I was struggling enough without adding beer to the mix!

I was very relieved to finally make that left turn back onto the road. But while the change in scenery was good, the uphill climb was not so good. I was pretty tired at point after maintaining about a 7:15 pace up until then. I was running out of steam and knew the course enough to know the 3 miles that remained were going to be challenging. Just as I started my climb, an older but extremely fit woman who had been running near me on and off during the race steadily moved ahead of me. I knew I was slowing down and would just not be able to stay with her.

By mile 11 I was so ready to be done, but unfortunately had 2.1 miles to go! I knew that Mike, another RTR friend, would be at the mile 12 aid station and it felt like that was so far away. I just kept plugging along knowing that my pace had slowed a lot in those last miles. As I passed mile 12 however I felt a bit more energized at the though of having only one more to go. The best feeling was rounding the left turn onto Green Hope School Road. Somewhere at or before that a guy said to me that I'd be in the top 25 women if I could pick off 2 more. Unfortunately I knew I did not have that in me and at that point was just trying to finish for time. I knew it would not be a PR but it wasn't bad at all. Of course the second half was slower than the first so no negative splits that day. But I did give it a good sprint at the end and finished 27th overall of 1261 women in a time of 1:37:15. I was 7th of 294 women in my age group. This was the second best half marathon ever for me.

I met up with my group at then end and we went back to Tracy's place for breakfast and to clean up. It was a great race and a fun day. Several RTR friends also completed the full marathon that day. I am not sure I'd be able to do that one, the half took enough out of me. Still I was very pleased with my time. It was a good way to end my last race before entering the "masters" group.

Next stop...Boston! I found it hard to believe at the time that it was only a short month away.

Jolly Elf Trail Run, Cary, Dec 12, 2009

2009-12-26T22:37:00.014-05:00

I can't imagine a colder day for a race than Dec 12th was. OMG, freezing is an understatement! I wore tights, several layers on top including fleece, and my Santa hat and I was freezing. I missed getting the last good spot in the parking lot closest to the number pick up, so had a short jog over to get my stuff and it was so cold I really felt so sorry for the people volunteering that day. I grabbed my shirt and number and then headed down to the starting line to get my chip. I quickly ran back to the car to drop stuff off and warm up for a bit (no not run to warm up but sit in the car to warm up!).

I ran back down to the start after waiting as long as I could to discard my jacket. I saw Jeff from RTR festively dressed in red long johns (with shorts over them). Lots of elves and festively dressed runners were there. I found out at that point that the starting line was just one big long line across the grassy (really frozen muddy) field and that there was no recorded chip time start, only chip finish. So the goal was to run as fast as possible across the field because after that the path narrowed and you could get stuck if you didn't get out there fast. Gee no pressure.

As the race started, I thought two things...one, I am not liking sprinting across a field that had deep frozen muddy trenches in it and two, it was a bad day to find out that the new tights I had on that didn't have a draw string really could have used one! Jeff took off and I couldn't even see him at first. I was busy for the first part of the race pulling up my tights and also worrying about falling into a muddy ditch while I tried to sprint which by the way is really hard to do when you can't feel your frozen feet. Once we got off the field it was a bit better but I could tell that I was still having that heavy chest thing that I had the week before in the Jingle Bell Run. The air was so cold it was painful to breathe. I knew I was going slow and since it was a trail race I knew I would be slower but I figured I'd speed up eventually after warming up. I ran the first mile in 6:55.

The second mile had a hill and some single track so that really slowed me down. I never realized how different trail racing was from trail running (and I have to say I much prefer the running over racing). I felt limited to how fast I could go because I was afraid of my footing which I don't have a problem with in road races. The second mile pace was 7:28. By the third mile, as in the last race, I was really wanting to be done. All the resting from running made a 5K seem pretty long, whereas when I was training for the marathon a 5K seemed over so quick. I have never been good with races that finish in open fields, I am not sure why but for some reason it's intimidating. But this time I was so thankful to be back in the field and to be close to done. There was a woman just ahead of me but I didn't even have the motivation (maybe had the energy but not motivation) to try to catch up with her. I was cold, tired and again a bit nauseous like the last race. I could have taken a nap right at the finish line if there was a bed there! I finished the third mile in 7:09 pace, so I really never did warm up and speed up much in the end.

I finished the race in 21:45 chip time. According to my Garmin the course was actually less than 3.1 miles this time (guess that made up for the 3.32 mi course the week prior). Even with it being a trail race I didn't run as well as I usually would have and again didn't feel great after the race. But I accomplished my goal of running 6 of the Second Empire series races. And I came in 3rd in my age group and got a very nice award, a Christmas ornament that says 26.2 on it (see picture above). The race was well run and well organized but I have to say I likely wouldn't run it again because I am not sure trail racing is for me. I like to run on trails for fun and I think I may reserve trails just for that.

This was the last of the 6 races I ran in the Second Empire series. In the end I came in 5th woman overall in the series, so I was pretty happy with that. I am looking forward to going to the award lunch in January. They have a new spring series coming up but I think I'll pass on that one and focus instead on getting back into the longer distance races. Next big race coming up is the Myrtle Beach half marathon and then the Tobacco Trail half, all leading up to the Boston Marathon in April. I need to really get back in gear if I am going to be ready for that one. I don't expect to run as fast as NYC since it's a much harder course, but I do want to be back in shape enough to feel confident that I can finish well and have an enjoyable race.

After Boston, not sure but I may go back to focusing on shorter races. We'll see what the spring of 2010 brings! Who knows what that will be. As I sat at my laptop on a cold Jan 1st 2009, I never really expected to have accomplished so much. I ran 15 races this year and placed in my age group in many of them. I also had several PRs this year in distances from 5K to the marathon, which is pretty cool considering I've been running since I was 13. On Jan 1st, I set a goal of running a half marathon in 2009. In the end I ran 2 half marathons and one full marathon, which just happened to be the one I had always dreamed of running. And I qualified for Boston. I couldn't really have asked for more!

Jingle Bell 5K , Raleigh, Dec 5, 2009

2009-12-26T21:38:00.008-05:00

The Jingle Bell 5K was the only race in the Second Empire series that I had run before. Last fall I decided to get back into running races after a very long hiatus and this was the second race I ran. I wasn't feeling really great that morning and it was chilly and raining. Also I hadn't really been running much since the weekend after the marathon since I was still having knee issues for which I was going to physical therapy. But I was committed to do 6 races in the Second Empire series since they take your 6 fastest races for the overall scoring and I had already skipped two of the races. So I grabbed my Santa hat and headed into Raleigh. My husband's parents were in town and we had plans for a Canes game that same afternoon, so I knew I needed to run the race and get back home pretty quickly.

I picked up my t-shirt, number, chip and jingle bells for my shoes. I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd and Santa himself was there cheering on those running the 1 mile fun run which took place before the 5K. Lining up for the 5K was a challenge because they filled the chute backwards so people weren't moving back enough for everyone in front to be behind all the timing mats. It was pretty chaotic and I was expecting there to be more moving back but apparently not and right at 10:30 the race started, ready or not. I was in mid sentence conversing with someone when it started so there was no time to ponder the disorganized start any longer. I just ran. I felt I was starting too fast but couldn't really help myself. I did gradually slow down but I was still able to maintain a decent pace for the first mile at 6:42.

During the second mile I began to really feel the effects of either not running enough or having a bit of a chest cold (not stuff nose or head but just my chest had been feeling heavy) or both. I felt like I really wanted to drop out but kept going since I needed to finish for the race to count in the series. I also began to feel a bit nauseous, which I haven't felt in race in a while. I ran the second mile in 6:49, so I was definitely slowing down.

In the third mile the race headed towards and turned back around at the capitol building in Raleigh. My 12 yr old friend Winston passed me around this time point (sometimes I pass him, sometimes he passes me, but the last few races he's passed me) and said "fast course huh!" and I said "yup" or something while trying not to look like I was dying and trying not to throw up! You can see him in the picture above, gaining on me.

I couldn't wait for this race to be over. I just kept waiting for the turn back onto St. Mary's Street which I knew meant that the finish was near. It felt like it took forever but finally came and I was able to muster up some energy to sprint to the finish. My race pictures near the finish line (which I did not include here!) are horrible, but they at least they look like I gave it my all in the end despite a rough 2nd and 3rd mile. The 3rd mile was 6:56.

The last what was supposed to be 0.1 mile, which was actually 0.32 miles, was 6:57 pace. It really felt faster but I guess that was because I probably was going slow until the turn onto St. Mary's Street and then sped up. After I finished, I didn't even realize that my overall time was so off from what it should have been. It was 22:36 chip time but for some reason I was thinking 21:36 so didn't notice until someone later mentioned to me that the course was longer that it should have been. I was really feeling nauseous after the finish and was parked on the next street from the finish so I quickly headed right for the car to change and sit for a bit. I didn't feel much better after changing so decided to head back over to St. Mary's School for a bite to eat and to see if I could find out some results. The good (or bad, depending on how you are doing) thing about a race with a few turn arounds is that you can see who is in front of and behind you. I didn't recall seeing too many women my age ahead of me, so I figured I may have placed.

I chatted with a few running friends and felt a bit better after sitting down on the floor for a bit. But the results were slow to be posted and by the time they were (2nd place in my age group) I really needed to leave to make the Canes game, even before the award ceremony which I usually stay for. I headed out, feeling a bit better, but knowing it wasn't my best race. My time, even with the course error (which was since determined not to be a measurement error but to be that someone likely moved one of the turnaround markers the morning of the race), was still about 1 minute faster than the year before. Likely would have been 2 minutes faster if the course was accurate. I wasn't really upset that it wasn't a PR since I didn't really expect one after cutting back so much on the running. But I would have liked to have felt better after the race. Still I was glad I did the race and didn't quit. It was the second to last one in the series, with the final one being the Jolly Elf Trail run the next Saturday.

On the really up side, the Canes game was awesome! Very exciting, action packed game and my son Owen had a great time.

Free to Breathe 5K, Raleigh, NC, Nov 7, 2009

2009-11-08T21:12:00.019-05:00

This race is part of the Second Empire series so I have to say I probably wouldn't have run one so soon after the NYC Marathon if it wasn't for that fact. I'd run 3 races in the series so far, and can only run two more so since they use your 6 best races to do the scoring, I needed to run this race to remain in the "running". The race raises money for lung cancer and I could definitely see the passion that the organizers, volunteers and runners who had loved ones that been impacted by this disease had. It was inspiring to hear the stories of the difference advances in cancer research have made. It made me glad I decided to do the race even thought I wasn't able to raise as much as I hoped, due to registering a bit later for this one.

I went into the race assuming it may not be a PR but was kind of hoping I'd be wrong...I wasn't. But it wasn't due to lack of trying or not being recovered enough from the marathon. It was due to all those darn hills! Those hills being mile one and mile 3. Yikes! That first mile was pretty tough. I didn't want to go out too fast and was going at a fairly speedy pace initially but once I hit the first hill in that first mile which was a really long one, I knew that mile would not be record breaking. It ended up being 6:49 so still not too shabby for the hilly course. Mile 2 was all down hill so I was able to pick up speed and pass at least 2 women (and maybe some men too but I don't recall) on this part of the course and managed to stay ahead of them for the rest of the race. That mile was 6:29 so pretty fast for me. If I could just do a similar pace in mile 3 it would be great. However since I hadn't looked at the course ahead of time I didn't realize that mile 3 was fairly hilly as well and while I continued to give it my best, there was no way that this was going to result in a PR. So I just kept the best pace I could.

Within mile 3, the course turns left at one point (you can see it on the map above, the weird little "tail" between mile 2 and 3) and then makes a u-turn and goes back straight (up a hill) so that it forms a T and you can therefore see all the runners that have already passed the u-turn. First of all, that is intimidating to see how many are in front of you, second because it curves around so much you can't see how much farther you have to go before you turn around and it seemed like that took forever and third, you can see that you have a hill coming once you turn around, before you even get there so that is also mentally challenging. The strangest part was that the u-turn goes right over a grass median. So you have to jump up on the curb to get over it (not fun for those with jogging strollers I'd guess!). And even stranger was that a few yards further down that street was a break in the median which is paved (so that cars can turn there). I wonder why they didn't just measure the course with that in mind and move the start/finish around a bit. Guess that would be more challenging to figure out, but I've never seen a race where you had to run up over the grass median.

Once I got past the u-turn point, I just kept plodding up the gradual hill. I was able to pass a few folks so I didn't give up by any means. But I was starting to feel that breathing was getting harder and I was feeling nauseous. I haven't really felt like that in a race in a while, not even in the marathon, so I knew I was pushing it pretty hard. I had my sights on a woman in front of me and kept gaining on her little by little up the hill. I saw the '1/2 mile to go" sign and then the "1/4 mile to go" sign (I was glad it was almost over!). I sped up but the finish was still all up hill. And she sped up too so she clearly wasn't out of steam. So I kept going as fast as I could but so did she so she finished 1 second ahead of me (gun time, 3 seconds chip time) but I was ok with that since I didn't give up and since I also found out she was 19. Mile 3 ended up being 6:51. The pace for the last 0.1 was 6:16. My chip time in the end was 21:05 (gun time 21:06).

I still felt a bit nauseous but stayed near the finish and saw Linda and Cindy finish. They did really well but also said it was a hilly course and not a PR. I think most runners who had run this one and the 5K 2 weeks before agreed that one was a much easier course to run. That one was hilly too but the hills were rolling and this was big long hills. I felt maybe the nauseousness meant I needed to eat so I saw they had some pizza and decided to have a slice which unfortunately only made things worse. So I went to the car to change and get the Yoo Hoo I had grabbed from the fridge this morning on the way out. Usually I'd have a Power Bar but was out of them and had kept reading that chocolate milk was the perfect recovery drink so that was a fast option (as long as the kids didn't see me stealing their Yoo Hoo, which they didn't). I changed and drank that and felt much better afterwards, so I think I found a new recovery drink, but now I just have to sneak it out of the house before races so the kids don't get mad at me for stealing their stuff!

My 12 yr old friend who I see at lots of races did really well. It wasn't a PR either but I could tell he was running strong and I never did catch up with him, he was about 8 second ahead of me. Whereas in the 5K 2 wks ago, I passed him after mile 2. So he ran a great race. He came first in his age group, as did Linda. I actually placed 2nd in mine, which is unusual. Usually I get third if I place. I think some of the top women overall who sometimes run these local races weren't there so that bumped up one of the 35-39 yr old women into the top 3 which bumped the rest of us up. Overall I was 52 of 335. I was 11 of the women (not sure how many, it wasn't posted and I didn't count them). I was 2 of 17 in my age group.

For this race they did a great job of getting the results up there and posted quickly which is great. Sometimes it takes forever and usually I just want to check it so I can see whether I should stick around or not in case I have someplace to be afterwards. They also got right on with the awards which was also great. No gift cards this time, but that was fine. I got a nice medal which my kids are usually more impressed with over gift cards. They took pictures of each award receipient which I am not sure if that was great or not, depends on how the picture comes out and where it gets posted I suppose!

While waiting for the awards ceremony I did get to meet a woman and her husband who also placed 2nd in their age groups (they were in their late 20's). They were very nice to talk with and it's always great to meet new people at the local races. I bet it's great for them to be able to run and race together and share that interest. I also got to meet Cindy's family which was nice.

So while not a PR and not the most fun course ever because of the hills, I did have a good time and a good first post-marathon race. I am kind of glad I didn't take much time off but after a 3mi easy run on Wed, the race on Sat and a 10.4 mile run on Sun, I am definitely looking forward to a rest day on Monday!

My next race is the Free K-Wayne 5K being held on Saturday, Nov 14, at the American Tobacco Trail. It's the first year for this race and it's being held by the family of a young man who lost his battle with depression. The race is free but donations are requested in his honor to raise money for mental health research. After that I may or may not do a turkey trot in Myrtle Beach while I am there visiting my inlaws for turkey day. I haven't registered yet because I am also considering taking that weekend off before jumping back into marathon training in December.

I have already registered for the remaining races in the Second Empire series, the Jingle Bell 5K and the St. Michael's Jolly Elf Trail Run. I did the Jingle Bell last year which raises money for arthritis research. I haven't done the Jolly Elf before, which is in Bond Park. I'm looking forward to those. I also registered for the Myrtle Beach half marathon (Feb 13) and the new Tobacco Road half marathon (Mar 21) which should be perfect tune ups for the Boston Marathon in April. Looks like some RTR and other running friends will be running one or both of these races so they should be lots of fun.

NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 3: Race day and beyond

2009-11-05T05:30:00.120-05:00

NYC Marathon course and elevation

After the race

Marathon Monday at the finish line in Central Park

Statue of Fred Lebow in Central Park

Beautiful Central Park

Ice rink in Central Park

Rise and shine, it's race day!

I awoke actually prior to the alarm going off, which I often do. I think I have a pretty good internal clock. I got dressed, reorganized the stuff I packed and double checked everything (remember the shorts I forgot on Friday!). I ate breakfast, some cereal with milk and one of my coveted bananas, which we actually went back to Whole Foods for after dinner the night before and waited on a long but not crazy long line for. At the last minute, after doing some Facebooking to wish folks doing the City of Oaks Marathon and Half in Raleigh being held that same day and after checking the weather for the 100th time, I decided to go light and not bring my fuel belt. I agonized (yes, dumb I know) over that for the last few weeks because I did bring it for the NYC Half and while it was very annoying I was glad to have it because it was very warm and humid out. But since the weather today called for mid 50s and maybe some drizzle, I took the risk that I'd be ok with the water and gatorade provided and just packed 4 Hammer gels in a small ziplock and a few salt packets for emergencies. With that I gave Keith a kiss goodbye and headed for the subway.

Subways, ferries, and buses, oh my

Much like the trip to Oz, this was going to be a long and adventurous one. I waited for the subway with a few other runners but didn't make any conversation. That is until a rat ran right across the floor on the platform which started a bit of chatter. As time went on more runners came. We all waited and finally a train came, but it was the number 2. I didn't have my handy iPhone (no way I was bring that because it really was annoying to carry during the half and I wasn't planning to stop to take any pictures anyway since I was focused on achieving my time goal, though I almost brought it at the last minute for fear that I'd need it to find Keith), so I wasn't confident it was going where I needed to go. Some runners did get on it so likely they were locals who knew that it went to the ferry but just in case they were actually taking it someplace else to meet friends before taking another train to the ferry, I dared not get on. We waited quite a bit longer for the 1 train to come and everyone got on that one.

The 6am ferry which I was assigned to was just about to start loading so I was right on time. Turns out they don't even check to see you are on the ferry you are assigned. So lots of 5:30am folks got on this ferry. And in fact even spectators probably could have gotten on, since no one checked. I got on the ferry on the main deck but after that they announced all runners should go to the lower deck. Of course no one listened and since I already had a seat, I stayed put. For most of the ride I didn't chat with anyone. Not that I didn't want to be friendly, just no one else seemed interested. Then one woman I was sitting across from started chatting with me and the man sitting next to her. She was probably in her early fifties and lives in the northwest US and runs a marathon every month but this was her first NY. The man sitting next to her was from Pennsylvania and probably in his mid forties and had run NY a few times. He had recently injured his ankle and was clearly worried about this race so his goal was just to finish this year. I chatted with them on the ferry and then on the bus that took us from the ferry to Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island where the race start was. They were in different start villages (I was blue, they were green I think) so I knew I would probably not see them again and wished them luck as I made my way over to the port a potties for my first stop. I never did get their names but it was nice to have people to talk to on the way there.

Fort Wadsworth - Welcome to Beautiful Staten Island

The line to get into Fort Wadsworth was long but moving as security checked numbers and bags for those who didn't follow directions and used a bag other than the clear bag provided to us at the expo. I chatted a bit with some folks in the line including a girl who had run the race a few times and an older gentleman who noted my race number and was aware I was in the wave 1 start so he commented I must be fast. I told them the story of the error made by the website staff where they put my half marathon time (1:36) as my time for a marathon and I was worried that if they didn't fix that in time it would be me and the Kenyans on the starting line and I'd either get trampled or carried away in the crowd to a good head start. I also spoke with a German woman who was running for the first time. But alas all these folks were in different villages too, so I was on my own again, heading to the blue start village. I was glad that Pauline and I, while in different waves, were in the same blue village. We agreed to try to meet if we could by the first aid tent in that village hoping that first aid would not be crowded, at least not prior to the race!

Paulineeeeee!
I can definitely say I was very confused on where to go, and so were other folks who wandered aimlessly. I had to ask several times after getting incorrect info and finally was pointed in the direction of the first aid area. As I was heading over there I heard someone shout my name, and it was Pauline. She was camped out on the ground and had already made some friends (she always does!) who she was chatting with. I can't believe in a sea of over 40000 people she spotted me! We weren't even by the first aid tent, which she had never found. We sat and chatted with a woman from Florida who had run the race before. Pauline took some pictures and Facebooked since she decided to bring her phone in the end. I headed to the port a potty a few more times and also got some hot water to make my instant oatmeal. I also had my second banana. It was so nice to pass the time chatting with Pauline and the woman from Florida (didn't get her name either). Before I knew it they were announcing the corrals were now open for the wave 1 start. I headed over there, saying goodbye and good luck to Pauline who was in wave 3 so she still had some time to wait.

The corrals

I got to my corral (corral E, so the 5th one back) and of course stopped at the port a potty again. Then I sat on the curb and organized my remaining supplies that I'd eventually be leaving behind. I put on some Biofreeze on my knee and calves that Pauline gave me since my Aspercreme had already worn off. And I took some extra strength Tylenol also preventative for the knee. I ate a Powerbar and finished my Gatorade. Then another potty stop (yes, I know, lots of potty stops, but I always get nervous) and removal of my first layer of clothing, an old LL Bean out of style men's fleece pullover. I've had it for years and it's very warm and cozy but not very cool and rides up when you run so it's not very practical for running either. I had an old mock turtleneck underneath. I was never cold at all while waiting for the race so I did a pretty good job of planning my wardrobe. I was really still uncomfortable with tossing the clothes and garbage aside but after being assured by the corral marshalls (now there is a tough job I'd never volunteer for!) that there were no receptacles but that it was fine to just leave things there and it would be picked up I did so. A guy who was sitting on the ground asked if he could have it to sit on and gave it to him and used the old out of style Old Navy jacket I had been carrying around to sit on myself. About 20 minutes before the start folks started to stand up, so at that time I removed my sweat pants (probably should have done that when I was sitting down in retrospect) and waited. I kept only my mock turtle neck and old fleece gloves on. I'd bought some at Walmart for $3 a few days before, but decided in the end they were better than the old gloves I had so kept them and used the old ones to eventually toss.

Wave 1 start

As wave 1 was called to begin moving up, the ropes separating the corrals were removed. There was lots of commotion outside the corrals as people who were late to arrive were now being kept out of the wave 1 start and told they had to wait for wave 2. As you can imagine they were really upset and some confused because they didn't speak English. I remember this poor guy just repeating over and over "wave 1! wave 1!" in a very thick French accent. There was a lot of pushing and shoving to get in, some hopped the fence, some went under. Others never did get in and just waited for wave 2. I really felt bad for the corral marshalls at that point, it was getting dangerous and they were just trying to do their jobs. But in a way I felt a bit bad for those trying to get in, because while they were late and I am guessing it was announced the corrals were closing that either they didn't hear or ignored (announcements were in all languages), that was probably a bad start to what was supposed to be an exciting day.

I took one more sip of water and asked someone next to me to pass the bottle over to the side so no one tripped on it. Of course others weren't always as concerned and there were clothes and water bottles everywhere in the road, so you had to be really careful moving towards the starting line. Two odd things happened at that point. A young guy saw me getting rid of the water and asked if he could have the rest because he was thirsty. Yuck! I am healthy but how does he know that. No way would I ever do that! And the second thing was a clown (yes, a clown) from France I think, asked if I'd hold his wig and hat while he took his sweatshirt off. Weird. I think it's funny that folks run dressed up (I saw Elvis at the start too) but I have no idea how you can run a marathon like that! At about 15 minutes to go we were starting to move toward the bridge. I was able to jog a bit despite the crowd which felt good. Once we were more out in the open beyond the protection of the corral it began to feel a bit chilly but I took my turtleneck off at this point and asked someone to pass it over to the side. Then all that remained was my gloves and my ziplock baggie with my gels and salt. I was glad to have lightened the load and not have brought my fuel belt.

Verrazano Narrows Bridge

I don't recall the order but brief words were said by Mayor Bloomberg, Mary Wittenberg President of the NYRR, and one of the elite men (Abdi I think). I couldn't see from where I was but could hear well. The elite men were led out by some local kids. The national anthem was sung by a female fire fighter and with that the cannon sounded. During all this an older guy with an NYPD single on asked me what my goal was and I conservatively said minimum 4 hrs but I wanted to BQ and needed 3:50. He mentioned I think somewhere around 3:10 or so and I got the feeling he thought I was too slow to be starting at the same spot as him. Hmmm!

It took only about 2 minutes or so to reach the starting line, so not bad at all. And once there I really was able to get moving right away. I had heard the bridge was uphill for the first mile so I planned to start slow, say around 8:30. I stuck near the right side of the bridge, but was careful to stay clear of the peeing guys and the picture takers near the sidewalk. I kind of had to go to the bathroom and that didn't help. I was jealous of the men at that point but I'd suspect I'd have some stage fright even if I were a guy and able to pee standing up. Bottom line, I'd have to be very desperate to take a potty break at this point so I tried not to think about it and figured I'd try to wait until the race was over knowing usually the feeling would pass after a while.

There were people everywhere but I was still able to move along at the pace I wanted to run without much weaving. Helicopters were flying by likely taking video footage and pictures. The first mile was much easier than I thought and I didn't feel it was a hill at all. I ran it in 8:08 so faster than planned but not too fast since I felt it was a very comfortable pace. Same with mile 2, it was downhill and my second fastest mile, but again I didn't feel like I was pushing it, it just felt natural. At this point I was over the bridge (the first right of passage into the NYC Maraton) and into Brooklyn.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the longest leg as far as the boroughs go. I'd be in Brooklyn until the half way mark. The crowds were amazing! Of course it was early in the race and I was in wave 1 which included the elite men, so the crowd was still fresh and excited. Still I was amazed at how loud and continuous the cheering was. They were cheering for everyone, not just their friends and family. Kids were putting their hands out for high fives, bands were playing, it was really inspiring. I spent a lot of time trying to soak it all in and keep an even pace, just trying to settle into one that was comfortable. I turned out that just under 8 min miles was that comfort zone and remained so for much of the race. I didn't plan on that at all. I expected 8:15 maybe 8:20 and then slower on the hills or near the end. But I felt good and comfortable, not like I was pushing too hard at all. If the weather was different or maybe if I'd done something different that morning, it may have turned out different, but it seemed this was the pace I was destined to run. So I just kept saying, with all the other mantras I'd planned and then didn't really use, "run the mile you're in". I'd heard that from someone and for some reason that was what worked. That and "pace, pace, pace" to remind myself to stay where I was and not speed up. I also did use "enjoy the experience" to remind myself to absorb this all because this was what I'd been waiting for.

While I am not familiar at all with Brooklyn you could definitely see the variety in the neighborhoods, but the support was there no matter which neighborhood you were in. At a point, the area became less big city street like, as the neighborhoods before had been, and more brownstone small neighborhood like. I sort of felt like I was on Sesame Street and expected to see Big Bird, Maria, Luis or Oscar cheering us on. :-) The crowd noticeably thinned as we entered the Hasidic community of Williamsburg. There were a few younger folks on the street watching and moms with their kids either on the street or watching from their apartment windows. But many of the older or middle aged men seemed to just be going about their business, as if this whole marathon wasn't actually happening. They only noticed it when they needed to cross the street which they did by darting in and out of the running crowd (which while it wasn't hard to run in, it was pretty well packed where darting into it was not easy). I nearly got run into by one such gentleman, and I commented on his speed in navigating the crowd. It was also shortly after this that someone was handing out tongue depressors with vaseline on them which I took and was happy to have as I was starting to have some chafing on my thighs, despite the vaseline I applied before the race. I really need to look into that body glide!

The next big milestone was on the bridge from Brooklyn into Queens, where the half way point marked a huge milestone in the race. It was the halfway point as well as the end of the 2nd and longest borough. I had only felt tired once during the Brooklyn part of the race and that was between mile 8 and 9 which worried me until I remembered that this was one of the hilly parts of the course so it made sense. Still the average for that mile was just over 8 minutes so I was still keeping a good pace. I put all thoughts of calculating a potential finish time out of my head, and instead just focused on "running the mile I was in" and enjoying it. On the Pulaski Bridge over to Queens I passed some people who had slowed down since I was pretty excited to be moving onto the next chapter of the race.

Queens and the 59th St. Bridge

Since only about 2 miles of the race is actually in Queens I don't recall as many details except that we were back to wider city streets and great cheering crowds. I believe this is where there was a helicopter hovering over the middle of the road. Many runners, including me, waved, in case it was a new helicopter. Maybe it was a news copter because my friend Catherine who lives in NJ later posted on my FB page to ask if I was wearing a red shirt and black shorts, which I was but hadn't posted any pre-race pictures of. She said she thought she saw me on a news clip on channel 7. I have since tried to find that clip online without success, so if anyone has it taped, let me know! I also recall in Queens that you could see some of the taller buildings in the distance in Manhattan, a reminder that we were almost to the next phase of the race.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but all along the course the water stops were amazing. So many volunteers handing out Gatorade and water, which were clearly marked and easy to get to. I was definitely at peace with my decision not to bring my fuel belt after the first stop. And they were all just as good as the first one, perfect! I took Gatorade at every stop, only switching to water at those where I'd use my gels (every 5 miles). Then there was one stop that I saw stuff floating in the Gatorade, which of course can't be helped since it's poured so early to be ready for the thousands of runners. But I couldn't bring myself to drink it so I tossed it and had to grab water since I was already past the Gatorade tables and didn't want to back track.

The next milestone on the run, and perhaps the most challenging was the Queensborough Bridge (aka 59th Street Bridge). Now that was a hill. And there were of course no crowds for support on the bridge. Just lots of runners focusing, slowing down and breathing loudly. It was a very serious part of an otherwise fun race. I passed a few runners on that bridge because even thought I went a bit slower I didn't want to lose too much ground. It felt as if it lasted forever, but before the end of the bridge, before rounding the curve to the left onto First Ave in Manhattan (you actually enter Manhattan 2x during the race, once at mile 16 and again after the Bronx) you could hear the roar of the crowd. It was unbelieveable.

Manhattan First Ave

I was excited, but also nervous, to leave the bridge and turn onto First Ave. Keith and his friend Paul were going to try to watch from here so I wondered how I'd ever find them in that crowd. It was the largest crowd yet, several rows deep on both sides of the road (yep, we really should have picked a spot that they'd be in advance or at least a side of the road!). I was nervous about finding them, them finding me and about remembering not to go too fast on First Ave, which was the advice from Bart Yasso. As I rounded the curve and could now actually see the crowd I was shocked and knew there was a good chance I wouldn't see Keith and Paul. I kept running and looking on both sides of the street, for the next 2 miles, but really couldn't do both well so I pretty much stopped looking around mile 18 and returned my focus to running. Again I started to remind myself to run the mile I was in and to not look too far ahead.

First Avenue was a tough spot in the race for me, partly because I was searching through the endless crowd, but also because the soreness in my legs was becoming more obvious, yet not quite painful. Actually my ankles, calves and thighs were kind of sore from the start but that may have been due to not being able to warm up and also pounding only pavement with no dirt which I am used to having for part of my long runs. My mind was also starting to think about the rest of the race ahead. The distance left and the pace I'd need to meet 3:40 or faster. I tried to block that out for as long as I could. It was at mile 18 to 19 that I first looked at my 3:40 pace wristband. I just quickly compared it to the clock time, which I knew was a few minutes off from my chip time. I saw that I had wiggle room by at least a mile, but also knew that anything could happen in those last miles, so tried to return my focus to the pace, to that mile, and to getting to mile 20. Mile 19 goes through Harlem. I recall the crowd was a bit thinner than mile 16 to 18 but there were still folks cheering and waving. Between mile 19 and 20 is the next to last bridge, the Willis Ave Bridge. I honest can't recall if it was this one or the next one that had open lattice work that was covered by brightly colors mats so you wouldn't have to look down into the water below. While the mats helped that, the lattice work still felt like a big steel waffle under my shoes and I was glad to be done with that bridge (whichever one it was) and into the Bronx, the second to last stop on this tour of NYC.

The Bronx

Even less time is spent in the Bronx than was spent in Queens. This part has a lot of twists and turns, which I have to say I kind of liked because it was some variety compared to the long stretch of First Ave that was so challenging for me. Mostly I recall the loud music (something my Eminem may have been playing as we got off the bridge, the people shouting, and I think there was a large video screen somewhere along the way. It is in the Bronx that mile 20 is passed, which is a significant milestone. For most runners it marks the farthest they've run in training. For me, I had done only one run longer, 22 miles, quite some time ago. I had run 20 miles 3 times. I was really excited to reach 20 miles, but still decided maybe I should continue to focus on pace instead of race for a little longer.

Harlem

I guess I didn't convince myself very well to not speed up, because mile 21 was my fourth fastest mile of the race at 7:38. I recall passing runners at this point because some were hitting the wall and I was speeding up a bit. I caught myself though and slowed down a bit the next mile and also slowed because I was now weaving around those who were walking or had slowed down. I sped up again at mile 23, clocking a 7:31 pace, my third fastest mile. I may not have gone that fast in reality thought since around mile 21 to 23 I noticed my Garmin autopaused for a few seconds here and there, not sure why, maybe the buildings and tree coverage.

Central Park

It was somewhere around mile 22 or 23, just before or shortly after entering Central Park, that I allowed myself to begin calculating potential finish time and realized that not only was 3:50 and a BQ a high probability, as long as nothing catastrophic occurred, but 3:40 was more than reasonable and 3:30 was possible if I could just keep an 8 minute mile pace. I was truly not thinking 3:30 for the entire race since that was my "fast" pace that I didn't expect to achieve. Secretly I had hoped for 3:35 maybe on a really good day, but I'd be happy with 3:40 (I had a dream about 3:42 something a few weeks ago). But I had been doing just under 8 minute miles all along with the exception of the Queensborough Bridge so I set my sights on a 3:30 at that point. I was feeling sore and kind of tired of running but thought there is only a 5K left, I can do a 5K no problem! And then...

Mile 23 to 24...aka THE WALL

I am thankful that this happened much later in the race this time compared to Marine Corp where I'd estimate I got severe leg cramps (quads) around mile 18 to 20. This time it was somewhere between mile 23 and 24 and while my quads hurt it was actually my right calf that started to spasm. It was sudden and painful enough that I acutally stopped short for a brief moment to grab it and actually saw it still moving on its own. All I could think was "oh no, I'd come this far only for things to unravel in the last 2 miles!". And they I thought "no way is that happening, push through it!". It was very painful and I wasn't sure I could even walk much less run but I started talking to myself saying "push through it" and later once it wasn't as painful I kept saying "you got, 3:30 baby". Wonder if any runners or spectators heard and thought I was losing it! At that point I didn't care, I just focused on getting through the last painful miles. This year I have really become a firm believer in mind over matter. I've seen it over and over that when I limited myself to thinking no way could someone like me break a 7 min mile for a 5K, I was holding myself back. Now I am realistic and don't expect to be doing a 6 minute mile 5K but I found that not only was 7 achieveable if I had a good strategy and believed it was possible but sub 6:45 was doable too. So this was no different. I was just going to push through and try to keep as close as possible to that 8 min pace.

The finish

Passing mile 24 was encouraging, but when I got to mile 25 it was even better. I got my pace back close to the 8 min mile goal. Then I knew I could at least make it another mile. Between 24 and 25 I passed one of the Maasai warriors who had been running on the team with Edward Norton. He was walking when I passed but he was almost there so I didn't say anything because every runner knows his or her own body and I was still using all my energy to focus on getting ot the finish. I never did see any of the celebrities on the course. I found out later that they'd finished behind me with Ed Norton being the closest around 20 minutes after me, followed by Anthony Edwards another 20 minutes or so later.

I recall passing each sign near the finish, first the 26 mile mark, which I'd taken a picture at the night before, joking it was just in case I didn't make it back there the next day at the race. Then the 400, 300, 200 and 100 yard signs which were a great help in the uphill finish. I ran as fast as I could and my Garmin showed a 7:09 pace, the fastest pace in the entire race. I was just trying to get done and trying to beat the clock to 3:30 since I wasn't sure how accurate my Garmin was due to it autopausing twice and I wasn't sure exactly how far I was between chip and clock time. So I thought if the clock still said 3:30 when I passed the finish, then the chip would certainly be under 3:30. When I crossed the finish, the clock read 3:30 and change and my Garmin was 3:27 something (just short of 3:28 actually once I looked at the details later). So I was confident I'd met the 3:30 goal I'd set back at mile 22/23. The official time turned out to be 3:28:25. And it was kind of ironic that right as I was crossing they were announcing that the 3:30 pace leader was just crossing the line too (I didn't see him, since the finish line was pretty long across), so my thoughts immediately turned to the 3:50 pace leader who a few days prior had urged me to aim for 3:50. While I wasn't cocky enough to have grabbed a 3:30 pace band, I was glad that I had taken the 3:40 one instead and aimed higher and then adjusted the goal once I saw how I felt.

I do need to mention that I also heard being announced right before I finished that Elvis was crossing the finish line. And later I found out that I was also beaten by Winnie the Pooh. That right there is enough to keep you from getting too proud! :-/

Getting out of the park

I was feeling pretty sore and tired after the finish. All the runners where funneled up the West side of the park past the finish near Tavern on the Green, which I had expected and knew would be a slow trek. I hobbled along, got my medal (which has a big 4-0 on it for the 40th running of the race, but maybe I'll wear it on my next birthday too!), took my official race photo, got my heat sheet (space blanket) and goodie bag. I was feeling slightly nauseous but not too bad. I chewed slowly on my bagel and drank my Gatorade which was grape flavor. I notice everyone got a different one so I was just happy not to have orange or lemon-lime! As I continued to walk I kind of wished I had checked a bag with some dry clothes and socks, since my toes were feeling pretty sore and I was kind of cold and soggy. But I knew Keith had my stuff and I'd get to our meeting spot soon so I kept moving. I saw several runners who were ill, couldn't walk, etc. Volunteers were helping them while continuing to congratulate all of us. It was pretty cool. I finally reached a break where there was a park exit and asked a volunteer what street it was and as luck would have it, it was 81st, so I exited.

I noticed right away the crowd of family/friends was pretty thin so I could have had Keith meet me a lot closer than having to now trek all the way to Columbus Ave but as a rookie I didn't know that. But 81st and Columbus was the plan so I continue on, and realized I still hadn't used the bathroom so made a pitstop at a port a potty along 81st. As I exited and turned left to continue towards Columbus I heard my name and turned around. Keith and Paul had just made their way out of the park too, after having watched me go by the 25.5 mile mark. I was glad they didn't pass by me when I was in the potty! I hadn't seen them there cheering for me at mile 25.5 and also never saw them at mile 16 but they said they easily spotted me both times. Must have been that red t-shirt! They congratulated me and we stopped for a few minutes so I could change my shirt and socks and put my sweat pants on and we headed to the subway to get back to Columbus Circle and the hotel.

Dinner at Il Melograno...again

Keith was supposed to fly out that evening so he was going to leave for the airport around 3:30. However he decided to stay (I'd like to think it was because he wanted to hang with me but the promise of good sake and another fine meal in the city with friends may have also played a small role!). I showered, snacked on some tempura in the sushi bar at the hotel and tried to take a short nap which really turned into me Facebooking instead. Then Keith, Paul, Paul's wife Christy and I headed to Il Melograno for some post race carb reloading. We actually walked because getting a cab proved challenging. And walking was probably the best thing for me anyway, so that things just didn't stiffen up. I was sore but felt ok. We had another fine meal and returned to the hotel for an early bedtime. Even the Yankees game didn't encourage us to stay awake.

Marathon Monday

I woke up between 6:30 and 7 and couldn't get back to sleep. I checked email and FB to see how everyone did in the City of Oaks races in Raleigh. I also went on the Boston Marathon website on my iPhone just to check it out since other than checking the qualifying times I hadn't really looked into it since I wasn't sure I'd make it in. I was scared into applying right then and there because there was a warning on the homepage stating that the race was filling fast and I could picture how I'd feel if I did all this only to be turned away from Boston because it was filled.

Keith left around 8:30 am to catch his 11:30 flight. I got up and started packing and getting dressed and then called to see if I could get an earlier flight as well since mine was 7:30pm. I wanted still some time to check out the Marathon Monday store at Tavern on the Green but wanted to get home at a decent hour. I was able to get a 2:45 flight, which was perfect. I got to chat with Pauline finally and heard about how she did (4:24 for her first marathon, wah hoo!) and also heard that she spotted "that bald dude from ER" eating breakfast and reading the NY Times at her hotel. Too funny!

I left the hotel and walked up to the finish line area in the park. They were disassembling the finish line area and bleachers and the 26 mile banner was take down just as I was passing by. I also got to see some kids from a local elementary school having their own "marathon" in the park. It was so cute, they had official t-shirts and race bibs and the teachers and parents were there to cheer them on. I also cheered for them as they passed. Once I got to Tavern on the Green I decided the lines were WAY too long to get into the store and just not worth it. I had a few marathon logo things by now and I figured I could buy more online if I wanted. So I kept going and found a Starbucks to get breakfast and to try to find a NY Times since they were to print the names of all who finished under 4:30. The paper at Starbucks didn't have the marathon insert though so I walked back to the park area and decided to keep walking around the park since I'd never done that. I didn't feel like taking the subway anywhere in particular so just strolled the park, saw the skating rink, carousel, playground, and made a second attempt at the marathon store but the line was still long. So I was off to search for a NY Times when a guy with a bunch of them was standing right outside the park selling them. I verified that it had the marathon section and bought it and headed back to the hotel to check out.

This time I braved the subway and took it to the NJ transit train to the Air Train. I was sore and moved slow with my luggage but was kind of proud of myself to get from the hotel to the airport without any help. I began reading my new book, My Life on the Run, by Bart Yasso, who had signed it for me a few days earlier. I though about this great experience as I was at the airport and was so glad that my journey to start running again this year ended here and ended with an outcome better than I could have imagined. I was happy to be going home to see Owen and Grace and settled on the plane to read my book. It was so good so far that I didn't even notice we had taken off and landed! I hope to continue reading it this weekend.

The results are in

The unofficial results (not sure what will make them official by mid Nov but that's what the website says) according to the website are:

3:28:26 (I received an email from NYC Marathon saying my official time is 3:28:25)
7:58 average pace
4781 of 43475 finishers overall
586 of 15121 women (still can't believe there are so few women compared to men!)
107 of 2509 women 35 to 39

Splits from the website:

5 km 24:17
10 km 48:39
15 km 1:13:22
20 km 1:37:59
13.1 mi 1:43:26
25 km 2:03:13
30 km 2:27:55
35 km 2:52:41
40 km 3:17:38

Oh and some other important stats:

Avg temp was 54 F, wind at 5 mph, overcast.
Meb Keflezighi won the men's race with Ryan Hall coming 4th, and Derartu Tulu won the women's race with Paula coming in 4th. Meb is the first American man to win since 1982 and Derartu is the first Ethopian woman. If you haven't checked it out on youtube yet, Meb was on David Letterman and did the top 10 things that go through your head while running the NYC Marathon. It's very funny!
I think it's also cool that both winners were in their 30s, so there is hope for us old folks!
This was the 40th running of the NYC Marathon, which started in 1970, the year I was born, so we are both 40 (almost).
Also cool Joan Benoit Samuelson, the winner of the first ever woman's Olympic Marathon in 1984, ran under 2:50 and nearly broke her old record for 50+ year olds (missed by 1 second!).
And finally this year's NYC Marathon now holds the record for the most finishers of any marathon ever!

Boston and the future

So I qualifed for Boston, which is what I'd hoped to do. And even better, I qualified even in the 18 to 34 yr old category, so I beat the the fastest female cutoff for the race by over 10 minutes. I was pretty pleased with that. Looking back to January when this all started, I'd never imagined I'd find myself here! So I am now registered and looking into hotels and such. I am looking forward to it and will soon put together my training plan for Boston much like I did for NYC. I have been considering working with a coach once the NYC marathon was over, since I know a few other local runners who are, but I kind of like to do my own thing and running is the one area of live that I can make my own rules, which I kind of like. So maybe I'll look into that after Boston, when I will focus on increasing speed and running shorter races and maybe even some much needed cross training, weight training, and nutrition. I keep wondering how my running might improve if I actually focused on any of that because right now I don't at all (example: I had Halloween candy for lunch the other day!). For right now, the focus in my running life is on Boston and putting together a plan for that, which will include a few upcoming half marathons (Myrtle Beach, Tobacco Road). And then maybe I can take a bit of a break in April before I am onto the next running goals!

NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 2: The day before the race

2009-11-05T05:26:00.045-05:00

Staten Island Ferry

Ground Zero

Bart Yasso at the NYC Marathon Expo

Marathon eve fireworks

Mile 26 on marathon eve

Trial run to Staten Island
On Saturday AM, I got up earlier than necessary since I am kind of used to getting up pretty early and don't seem to be able to sleep late very often. I'd usually rather get up and going and then take a nap later in the day. I headed down to the Starbucks next door and the Duane Read to get my chai latte, coffee for Keith, breakfast for me, and some water and gatorade for the race the next day. If you've not been to NY, you really can't go very far without seeing a Starbucks or Duane Read (their version of Walgreens/Rite Aid/CVS). After having our tea and coffee, we headed out for the first stop of the day, our trial run to the Staten Island ferry where I needed to be at 6am on race day. It took a few tries to get the right subway station. We had the W line planned but realized after waiting a bit that was only a weekday stop so switched to the 1 which was the one everyone would probably take on Sunday AM. The station was right across the street from the hotel so that was perfect. We rode to the ferry terminal stop wondering if we'd find the ferry easily. As we emerged from the subway entrance, the huge 5 foot tall letters spelling "Staten Island Ferry" were a tip off that perhaps the trial run wasn't really needed after all! We walked in, stood there for 5 seconds and said, yep, this is the right place, and then went to get back on the subway. Still I did feel better knowing I'd know where to go the next morning.

Ground Zero
We decided to stop at the World Trade Center site since it was close by. Keith had not been there post 9/11. It was wonderful to see the progress being made there but still such a sad reminder of that September day that started out like any other September day but ended so tragically. So many out of towners, particularly from other countries, were in the city for the race that it was a big tourist spot that day. We walked over to the WTC PATH station where you can get a good view between the fence of the enormous hole that was the footprint of the Twin Towers (as I'd always known them) that is still visible despite all the ongoing construction.

Lunch at Jane
We decided to head into the Village for lunch and using his handy dandy Urbanspoon app Keith found a great place called Jane. Despite the line outside and a crowd inside, we were seated right away since it was easy to squeeze in a table for 2. We started with an appetizer of goat cheese and carmelized onion on flatbread, which was yummy. Again I opted for a pasta entree, this time a pumpkin ravioli with sage sauce which was awesome and not all sweet and nutmegy like many places do their pumpkin ravioli. After lunch I convinced Keith to pop over to the expo again so we took a cab to the Jacob Javitz center since I wanted to get some of those arm warmers in case it was chilly the next day.

Expo, Day 2
I fully expected the crowd today to be even worse than Friday but to my surprise it was noticeably thinner. I guess most folks had already picked up their numbers and certainly had done a lot of shopping prior to us getting there because the once crowded Asics store was now pretty well picked over. In fact they only had bright blue arm warmers left, no black. Keith asked if I wanted to be warm or fashionable? Well, fashionable of course. I was wearing black shorts and a red shirt tomorrow so no way was I wearing blue arm warmers! Plus I wasn't fully sold on them anyway so wanted some cheaper black ones and while they had other brands that would have matched, I was not willing to pay $25 or more for them. So I dismissed that idea but did get the cool gloves I saw that had one borough on each finger. Of course now I am thinking as I write this, I wonder which borough got the middle one! I'd have to guess the Bronx because they had the more colorful signs during the race (quitting is not an "f'ing" option said one sign along the course...they do know how to cheer you on!) but likely it's Queens since they are the 3rd borough you go through. I didn't wear these gloves for the race since I was aiming for more disposable stuff, but kept them for my cold weather runs coming up all too soon in Raleigh.

Famous running folks

We walked around the expo a bit, still searching for cheap arm warmers that I never found. But I did spot Bart Yasso, Grete Waitz, and Deena Kastor, all signing books and/or giving autographs. The line for seeing Grete was closed since she had to leave and I felt guilty getting on line to speak to Deena since I really was more of a Paula Radcliffe fan. But when I saw Bart Yasso, I had to stop by. He was at the Runner's World booth since he is their "Chief Running Officer". I had seen a few video clips earlier in the week on the Runner's World website where he offered tips for packing for a race, calming pre-race nerves and tips for the NYC Marathon. The one I recalled most was "don't get so excited after leaving the bridge onto First Ave that you start going too fast, because you still have 10 miles to go". I asked Keith to take my picture with Bart and told him I appreciated his video tips. And in the end I definitely remembered that one during the race. I also purchased his book for $15 because I am always up for a good running book and also felt cheesy for taking a picture and then not buying it. I am glad I did because it's very entertaining so far. After this we left the expo, feeling that a nap was in order. On the way back we stopped over on Columbus Ave and 81st (one block over from where I expected to exit the park after the race) to choose an EXACT spot we should meet after the race. I learned from the Marine Corp Marathon that it's frustrating wandering around for a long time searching after you've just run a marathon, so you can't be too specific. We picked a bike shop near the corner of 81st and Columbus, right by the Specialized sign (the brand of bike Keith favors). Then we headed back to the hotel so we could rest a bit before dinner.

My kingdom for a banana

Before going up to the room, we decided to stop to try to get the last remaining thing needed for the race...bananas. My god, how many stores and lines do we need to navigate to get a darn banana in the city! I bet going to the Central Park zoo and wrestling one from a monkey would have been faster and easier (ok, actually I don't know if they even have monkeys there but still!). We made the classic rookie mistake of thinking going to Whole Foods (or any food store for that matter) just before dinner time just to buy a few bananas for pre-race breakfast would be a quick stop. Oatmeal and bananas have been a standard for race days for me for a few months after hearing they worked for some running friends. So I had to get bananas. We ran into Whole Foods (in the basement level of a shopping mall in Columbus Circle) and got them and proceeded to check out. To our amazement we realized that the line snaked around the entire store! We promptly put the bananas back and decided to try someplace else after dinner.

Dinner at Topaz
After literally 3 straight days of pasta for lunch and dinner I felt I needed some variety and a bit of protein. There was a nice sushi place in the lobby of our hotel but I was not about to risk potential bad raw fish on race eve! Also needed to avoid something too spicy, but ultimately I agreed to the thai place that Keith found on Urbanspoon called Topaz. We ordered some satay for an appetizer and I didn't get any wine but took a few small sips of Keith's beer. I ordered a noodle dish with chicken so while it was still pasta-like it was at least some variety. I ordered it not spicy and it was actually a bit spicy but really tasted great. We had this along with some sticky rice. It really hit the spot. This was another not fancy local place with great cheap food. I was amused however at the bartender and chef doing shots behind the bar and the waiter sipping beer from a glass he had stashed on a shelf behind a small curtain. Glad we ate early because I wonder what the impact of that drinking was on the quality of the food and service for those dining later in the evening.

Fireworks and nighty night
After dinner we headed over to Central Park as it started to drizzle to watch the fireworks display which was party of the marathon eve celebration. They were pretty cool and we could see them from around the mile 26 mark so didn't need to go all the way over to the finish line where the crowds were. We got back to the hotel pretty early and I spent lots of time laying out my clothes and stuff to bring to the race and for Keith to bring with him in my backpack for post-race. This included pinning my race number on, putting my timing device on my shoe, making the final call on clothes to wear and clothes I'd use to keep warm until the race started and then would toss (they collect them and give them to the needy), packing the clothes and other stuff Keith would bring, and figuring out the food I'd bring for the morning and what I'd eat before leaving. I was still undecided about the fuel belt so I put that in my bag thinking I'd bring it. After a lot of time spent doing this pre-race packing ritual that was more extreme for this race due to the fact that I'd be spending 3.5 hrs waiting around before the start, I took a shower and got ready for bed. We called Gran and Pop Pop, who were taking care of the kids at our place, to see how trick or treating went and they said it went well and the kids were already in bed. We had already talked to the kids earlier in the day and Owen wished me luck and said "I hope you win!". The Yankees game was on and I read a bit of my new Bart Yasso book, but decided to put that down for fear I'd stay up too late reading. Keith stayed up watching the game a bit and I turned over and tried to get to sleep around 9pm (after turning the clock back!), knowing I'd have trouble doing that and that the alarm would go off at 4am.

I can say that while I did sleep it wasn't a very sound sleep and I vividly recall dreaming that I missed the wave 1 start and then was about to also be late for the wave 2 start when I woke up and realized it was just a dream!

Stay tuned for the next blog post titled NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 3: Race day and beyond.

NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 1: The history and arrival in NYC

2009-11-04T20:35:00.080-05:00

Anthony Edwards at the NYC Marathon Expo

Columbus Circle

This is it!
Not to steal the title of the new Michael Jackson film, but all I could think about when arriving in NYC was "This is it!". This is the goal I set for myself early this year and now the big day is here. I originally was thinking, as I sat at my laptop on a cold January 1st, that this year I'd get back to running, and this year maybe I'd even run a half marathon by the end of the year. Then somewhere along the way, I can't remember exactly the date, I decided since I'd be turning 40 next year and since it had been 10 yrs since I had run my last (and only) marathon and since I didn't break 4 hrs in that one like I'd hoped and since I may not have this chance again, perhaps I should aim higher and do a marathon. I joined the Raleigh Trail Runners in February, which I am very thankful for since I couldn't have gotten so far without them, so I am sure it was shortly after that when I decided to finally register for a marathon. I considered OBX, Raleigh, Richmond and the NYC Marathon but ultimately decided if I was going to do it and may only do it once more, I should do NYC since I really love NY and it's one I've always wanted to do ever since I went to watch a friend of a friend run it in 1993.

My history with the NYC Marathon

I had actually entered the NYC Marathon lottery in 2000, the year after I ran Marine Corp, and got in right away, but postponed my entry to the next year since Keith and I were getting married that fall. Then in 2001 I took a new job and was unable to put the training time in, as was obvious by a pretty poor and painful performance in the Manhattan Half Marathon, which I was at least smart enough to pay attention to, so I dropped out from running the marathon that year too. After that I ran only one local race in 2002 and then we bought a house in early 2003, had Owen in 2004, moved to North Carolina and took a new job in 2005, had Grace in 2006, and took another new job in 2007. You get the idea. So I hadn't run a race at all, let alone a marathon, since 2002. In 2008, with little training but a bit of running on weekends with Owen or Grace in the jogging stroller and a few times a week at lunch time, I decided to run a local race. The first was the Second Empire 5K, selected because it was sponsored by a nice restaurant, and then later the Jingle Bell 5K, because I got to run with bells on my shoes and a Santa hat! I did respectable in both so this got me thinking about getting back to running more seriously now that the kids were a bit older. So that is what brought me to that January 1st where I planned out several races and a training schedule which I then modified after deciding to enter the NYC Marathon.

Leading up to the race
In the weeks leading up to the race, my knee (classic textbook case of runners knee) was starting to bother me again. But as usual it didn't seem to impact me in races. Not sure if that is due to the adrenline or extra strength tylenol or luck or a combination. But I could only hope that the same would hold true for the marathon. I really cut back on the miles and days I was running, much sooner and more drastically than planned because I was afraid of not being able to run the race if I didn't. But doing that really impacted my confidence at times since I feared I cut back to much too soon and would not be ready. Time would tell, either I was ready or I wasn't, too late now!

Hopes and mantras

In my last blog post, for the Run for Healthier Babies, I ended that post with some hopes for the upcoming marathon. I also wrote down some mantras, since I read that that is what the pros do to get them through and I needed all the help I could get. Some of those were:

22 pace, 4.2 race (I know that should be 20 race, 6.2 pace, but I was being conservative!)
Inspired, no fear
Respect the distance
Enjoy the experience
Feel good!
This is it!
Owen and Gracie (Paula uses her daughters name so thought that may work for me!)
You've already done this 4 times (ok well not really, the training was 3 20 milers and 1 22 miler, but close)
BQ!

I tried to repeat these to myself even leading up to the race and also reminded myself of what my hopes were by re-reading them in the days leading up to the race. I mainly thought about just keeping the negative and doubtful thoughts out and keeping my thoughts on just enjoying this experience and enjoying the sights at every mile.

Arriving in NYC

I arrived in Newark NJ early on Friday. I was able to figure out the Air Train and NJ Transit to successfully get into NYC, but then chickened out of taking the subway with my luggage for fear I'd end up in the wrong place. I walked a few blocks and then was able to get a cab. I just LOVE that you can look at a GPS map in the back seat these days and also that you can just swipe your card in that same contraption in the back seat and just pick a 15, 20 or 25% tip. How awesome is that, so easy. I got to the hotel pretty early so they didn't yet have a room ready. So after some quick (too quick as you'll read shortly) moving around of stuff from my luggage to my backpack I stored my larger bag at the hotel and headed out with my backpack with some essentials to find the official bus to the expo at the Jacob Javitz center. I found it pretty easily and there was a bus right there waiting that I was able to get on. Good thing it was one of the first buses heading over that day and the first stop, since it got very crowded as we moved along the hotel pick up route and others were turned away to wait for the next buses. I was surprised at the variety of languages being spoken on the bus, this was truly an international event!

The Expo

I texted and called Pauline to determine when/where to meet up at the expo. Her bus from her hotel was stuck in traffic so I navigated the expo alone for a bit before she arrived. I was able to pretty quickly get my number (9258), goody bag, and t-shirt (runs big but it's very cool). Then I entered the Asics Marathon store, which you have to pass through (conveniently) to get into the rest of the expo. It was pretty overwhelming. All the merchandise and people, mostly all speaking foreign languages which I was still amazed at (had heard it was an international event but didn't realize how much), combined with it being pretty warm in there and my backpack getting heavy, made me feel a bit like perhaps I should have skipped the expo on this first day.

Pauline arrives!

I wandered a bit looking at clothing until Pauline arrived. She is a bundle of energy so I felt less stressed when she got there (thanks Pauline!). She got her number, shirt, etc and we walked around. She found a few things she wanted to buy and I decided to get a pricey but very soft hoody with the NYC Marathon logo on it. Then we entered the rest of the expo. We talked to folks hosting other marathons (Edinburgh - guy in a kilt, Comrades - 56 mile race...no way!, and the Disney Princess - got a free crown which Pauline wore for the rest of the expo trip and even forgot she had on when we had lunch at a local diner...luckily Halloween was just around the corner and it's NYC so no one thought it was strange at all!).

Pace group guy pisses me off

We also got some information on other things we were interested in. Pauline checked out the finishers plaques while I asked about how the pace groups worked. I went up to the guys at the pace booth to ask about it. I told one of the guys what my half marathon time was (1:36), what I put on the application for my predicted time (3:40) and what I needed to BQ (3:50). I said that I was not too sure what pace group I should aim for but I didn't specify which ones I was trying to decide between. Immediately without hesitation he told me this was a tough course and that he recommended I start out with the 3:50 group which was the one he was leading. I am not sure if it was his tone or if I was just reading too much into it, but I was annoyed right away since I wasn't really aiming for 3:50 but instead was hoping for 3:4o so I had some wiggle room to BQ. I walked away, bitched to Pauline about it, and then went back over to the other side of the pace group table to put back the 3:50 pace group band and bib and took one for the 3:40 group. Hmmm, I'll show him! Maybe...

Turned out that in wave 1, blue start to which I was assigned (there are 3 waves starting 20 minutes apart and 3 different color starts in each wave, and I think 7 or 9 corrals in each start in each wave to reduce crowding...sounds complicated but it works!) there were no pace group leaders anyway, at any pace. So I would have had to change colors or waves to run with a pace group from the start or try to find them later. I decided to abandon that idea early on and go it alone, but still took the pace wrist band to wear as a reminder of the goal and also in case I wanted to double check if I was on track (it's like one of those bands they put on you to get into a club or amusement park). I had my Garmin so doubted I'd really need it but took it anyway as a reminder.

My brush with fame

We wandered around a bit more and Pauline bought some of those racing sleeves to cover your arms from the cold for the race. We also took some pictures of each other. I had heard earlier before Pauline arrived an announcement about Runner's World booth and Anthony Edwards but didn't hear the details. So I assumed maybe they were playing a recent spoof video clip that he had done that I had seen online earlier in the week or that they were collecting money for Shoes4Africa, the charity he was running for that is raising money to build a children's hospital in Kenya. I had kept tabs on a few celebs that were running in case I saw any of them. Ed Norton, Alanis Morrisette, and David Blaine were a few others. For those who don't know, Anthony Edwards (aka: that bald dude, as Pauline now fondly refers to him) was on ER (Mark Green) and also in Top Gun (Goose). So maybe not the biggest star around today, but a famous face and all around nice guy none the less, since he was raising money for charity. So I told Pauline that I wanted to check out the Runner's World booth before we left. We finally found it in the middle of the expo and as we approach I saw him, Dr. Mark Green (aka Anthony Edwards, aka that bald dude) standing right there, with few people around! I was so excited not really because he was on ER but moreso because I'd seen his spoof video (pretty funny, all about pretending training for the marathon was really just an acting gig) and knew he'd be running the race and now to actually get to meet him was pretty cool. I asked Pauline to take a picture with my iPhone if he let us. He agreed (poor guy, bet he was hating life after a few hours of that at the expo) and was very nice. He asked if we'd donate to Shoes4Africa, which we did. And we signed the notebook they had because the promise is that anyone who donates, no matter how much or how little, will have their name somewhere on the building. Pretty neat. As we walked away I was really excited and immediately posted the picture to my Facebook page and as we walked away Pauline said "who was that guy, he just looks like some regular bald dude"! Pauline you are so funny!

Lunch and the Ann Taylor/Gap fiasco

We decided to leave the expo (it was getting crazy crowded and we were starving) and take a cab to the house of a friend of Pauline's sister who said she could use her place to get changed. We ate lunch at a diner nearby and carb loaded. Then we went to change and I discovered the reason why it's not good to move clothes around last minute from one bag to another. I had all my stuff except for my running shorts! Thus began the desperate search for a place nearby to purchase some so we could go on our short jog around Central Park. First I though maybe I'd head back to my hotel to grab my shorts but then thought that would take too much time so we went on a quest to buy some. Afterall how hard could it be in NYC to find shorts. HA! We stopped at the closest clothing store, Ann Taylor. Yes, a long shot but thought they'd at least have some PJ type shorts or tights I could get by with. And they did have tights but they were too big so we asked the girl to look for a smaller size in the back. 15 minutes, and I kid you not at least literally 15 minutes, and she never returned, so we left. Then we trekked farther down the street and found a Gap. They did have some stretch capri workout pants, which were $40! But I was desperate so after waiting on a crazy long line (forgot about those long lines for everything in the NY area!) I got my pants, changed and we were off.

Central Park

We jogged slowly over to the park and ran over to see where the finish line would be and then ran the last mile or so of the marathon course in the opposite direction, along 7th Ave and along the East side of the park up to 5th Ave. We turned around there and ran back to get changed. My knee was feeling sore as we were doing that run, which made me nervous. Still it was pretty cool to see everyone preparing for the race, setting up the finish line area with all the flags of all the participants. After we changed I left Pauline so she could shower and I could go back to check into my hotel. I walked a bit and then took a cab the rest of the way (which turned out to only be a few more blocks left, I felt kind of stupid!).

6 Columbus

The hotel I booked was called 6 Columbus. It wasn't one of the official hotels but like I usually do, I spent a tremendous amount of time mapping out and researching hotels in the area near the finish line because I knew if this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience I wanted to stay near the action and also be closeby in case I didn't feel well after the race. So after hours and probably days of comparing I decided on 6 Columbus which I booked back in early June. The room was small as expected (we booked the cheapest one called a Pod room, so you know going in it won't be spacious) but was actually larger than the rooms in the boutique hotel we'd stayed in on our honey moon in San Francisco, so we were pleased. And best of all, the bathroom floor had heated tile, very cool! I changed, unpacked and just relaxed while I waited for Keith to arrive.

Dinner at Il Melograno

After Keith arrived at the hotel, we headed out pretty quickly to dinner. I usually plan stuff like crazy but actually didn't plan any of the meals for this trip in advance. So Keith went to work on his iPhone using Urbanspoon (I recommend it if you haven't used it). He looked for Italian so I could carb load. He found a small local midtown mom and pop looking place called Il Melograno. My first impression was perhaps it was a bit too mom and pop. We were seated along a bar by the window until a table was ready. It was hot in the restaurant and we were in a tight spot where all the dirty dishes needed to come past us to get to the small back room where they were to be cleaned. The kitchen was all open to the restaurant and there were a few guys working very hard back there but I had some doubts. Of course I forgot that NYC midtown mom and pop is a bit different than Raleigh mom and pop. Not to knock Raleigh because there are a load of great restaurants in Raleigh, but in Manhattan a bad restaurant couldn't survive in this location whereas in Raleigh it may for a while.

We ordered appetizers (mushroom polenta for Keith, salad for me) and fresh pasta entrees (veal ravioli with sage butter cream sauce for Keith, parpadelle with sausage for me). While this isn't a food blog, I can say that everything was amazing! And cheap! I couldn't believe we got a bill for about $90 which included appetizers, dinner, dessert (one for each of us!) and 2 glasses of wine each). Wow!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel since we were pretty tired and rented an in-room movie, Angels and Demons. I read the book and loved it so was looking forward to seeing it. I heard from Keith it was pretty good...I wouldn't know, I fell asleep in the first 15 minutes of the movie!

Stay tuned for the next post, NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 2: The day before the race